STORIES 
FOR  WORSHIP 

AND  HOW  TO 
FOLLOW  THEM  UP 

HUGH  HARTSHORNE 


BV  199  .C4  H257  1921 
Hartshorne,  Hugh,  1885-1967 
Stories  for  worship  and  how 
to  follow  them  up 


A  SECOND  MANUAL  FOR  TRAINING  IN  WORSHIP 

STORIES     FOR     WORSHIP 

AND 

HOW  TO  FOLLOW  THEM  UP 


By 
HUGH  HARTSHORNE 

Assistant  Professor  of  Religious  Education  in  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  and  Principal  of  the  Union  School  of  Religion 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1921 


COPTBIGHT,    1921,    BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNEBS  SONS 


THE  SCRIBNER  PRESS 


TO 

THE  PUPILS 
PAST  AND   PRESENT 

or  THE 

UNION  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION 


PREFACE 

Teachers  and  parents,  as  well  as  superintendents  and  pastors,  are 
involved  in  the  effort  to  lead  children  into  the  experience  of  worship. 
This  handbook  provides  not  only  the  material  for  services,  but  also 
a  method  by  which  the  church-school  worship  or  the  pastor's  talk 
to  children  may  be  followed  up  in  class  or  home. 

We  expect  in  the  services  themselves,  if  they  are  well  conducted, 
a  response  in  the  way  of  imagination,  of  feeling,  of  will  on  the  part 
of  the  children.  But  if  we  let  this  stirring  of  their  aspiration  and 
their  loyalty  end  here,  the  worship  will  have  failed  of  its  purpose. 
There  must  be  further  response  in  thought  and  action,  and  this  must 
be  provided  for  by  the  school  and  the  home.  The  service  must  be 
followed  up  by  discussion  in  class  or  around  the  Sunday  dinner  table, 
and  by  opportunities  for  the  conscious  use  of  the  moral  invigoration 
of  worship  in  the  practical  problems  of  everyday  living. 

The  book,  therefore,  includes  not  only  the  story  material  and 
programs  needed  for  the  leader  of  the  services,  but  also  suggestions 
for  the  guidance  of  discussion  in  class  or  home,  and  for  testing  the 
value  of  the  services  by  careful  observation  of  their  effects.  With 
this  manual  in  the  hand  of  every  teacher  at  the  time  of  the  class  ses- 
sion, there  may  be  developed  such  community  of  effort  as  will  enhance 
the  value  of  the  worship  many  fold. 

The  stories  are  for  the  most  part  new  or  not  widely  known.  The 
organization  follows  a  plan  that  has  been  worked  out  experimentally, 
by  which  the  work  for  the  year  may  be  brought  under  one  scheme  or 
project,  in  the  promotion  of  which  the  children  can  have  a  definite 
part. 

The  stories  were  prepared  for  publication  in  collaboration  with 
Mr.  H,  A.  Larrabee. 

H.  H. 

New  York, 

January  i,  1921. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface ,     .     .     .  v 

SECTION 

I.    Making  the  Most  of  the  Stories i 

II.    Getting  the  Children  to  Help 5 

III.  Following  vp  the  Services  and  Testing  Results 8 

IV.  Worship  and  Service 13 

V.    THE  SERVICES: 

PART  I.    THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

1.  The  City  of  God Hugh  Hartshorne  18 

2.  The  House  of  Friendship Hugh  Hartshorne  22 

3.  The  Friendly  Engine Anonymous  25 

4.  A  Friend  to  Somebody Mark  A.  May  28 

5.  Little  Gavroche Adapted  from  Victor  Hugo  31 

6.  A  Thanksgiving  Adventure Mark  A.  May  35 

7.  A   Great   Feast Adapted  from  Laura  E.  Richards  38 

8.  Bob  Chase's  Vacation Hugh  Hartshorne  42 

9.  A  Bag  of  Sugar Hugh  Hartshorne  47 

10.  The  House  of  God Mark  A.  May  51 

11.  Christmas  in  the  House  of  Friendship  54 

Adapted  from  Charles  B.  Bare 

PART  II.    THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

12.  The  House  of  Justice Hugh  Hartshorne  62 

13.  The  Just  Prince Mark  A.  May  65 

14.  On  Prayer Hugh  Hartshorne  68 

15.  Mary   Stone S.  H.  Leger  71 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PART  II.     THE  HOUSE  OF  JVSTlCE^iContinued) 

PAGE 

16.  Abraham    Linxoln       .     : S.  H.  Leger  74 

17.  Sharing  Our  Birthdays H.  A.  Larrabee  77 

18.  Washington's    Birthday Hugh  Hartshorne  80 

19.  Faith  in  the  Building  of  the  House  of  Justice    .     .       H.  A.  Larrabee  84 

20.  Finding  Happiness H.  A.  Larrabee  88 

21.  The  Boy  Who  Found  Out H.  A.  Larrabee  91 

PART  III.    THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

22.  The  House  of  Peace Hugh  Hartshorne  96 

23.  Trust  in  God Hugh  Hartshorne  99 

24.  Easter Hugh  Hartshorne  102- 

25.  Spirits  of  Spring Adapted  from  J.  T.  Stocking  105 

26.  The  Two  Foundations H.  A.  Larrabee  108 

27.  Work Hugh  Hartshorne  iii 

28.  The  Boy  Who  Forgot Adapted  from  George  Mair  113 

29.  The  Scowling  Face .     .     .  S.  H.  Leger  116 

30.  Two  Kinds  of  Peace H.  A.  Larrabee  119 

31.  Planning  the  House  of  Peace .       H.  A.  Larrabee  122 

32.  A  Flower  that  was  God's  Minister     .     .     .      Based  on  H.  T.  Kerr  125 


STORIES  FOR  WORSHIP  AND 
HOW  TO  FOLLOW  THEM  UP 


MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  THE  STORIES 

Imaginative  symbolism,  no  matter  how  closely  built  upon  the 
everyday  experiences  of  children,  tends  to  lose  color  and  force  unless 
it  has  been  adopted  by  the  whole  community.  Unfortunately  the 
religious  community — the  church — has  not  in  recent  years  been  sur- 
rounding its  work  with  glowing,  powerful  symbolism  that  can  appeal 
to  the  present  generation.  Until  it  does,  educational  efforts  will  have 
to  construct  their  own  bases  of  appeal,  and  develop  as  best  they  may 
the  devotion  that  can  grow  only  in  the  atmosphere  of  idealism. 

The  great  enterprise  of  religion  is  the  securing  or  the  building  of  a 
new  world.  In  former  days,  when  emphasis  was  placed  on  securing 
rather  than  on  building,  religious  education  was  primarily  a  matter  of 
disciplining  the  soul  for  the  life  to  come.  Latterly  interest  is  centering 
in  building  rather  than  in  securing,  with  the  result  that  discipline  for 
salvation  as  the  substance  of  religious  education  has  given  way  before 
discipline  for  democracy.  To  catch  up  into  our  educational  work 
something  of  the  romance  of  world  building;  to  let  the  vision  of 
a  world  made  perfect  capture  the  imaginations  of  the  children;  to 
fill  the  enterprises  of  peace  with  the  momentum  and  the  abandon  long 
monopolized  by  the  enterprises  of  war — these  are  essential  tasks  of 
education. 

A  long  history  of  intellectualism,  both  in  religion  and  in  education, 
has  made  vital  religious  education  difficult.  Enterprises  or  projects 
for  the  study  of  school  branches  like  arithmetic  or  geography  have 

1 


2  MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  THE  STORIES 

been  hard  enough  to  invent — because  of  the  gradual  withdrawing  of 
school  work  from  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  But  far  more  difficult 
is  it  to  find  adequate  and  appropriate  projects  for  religious  education. 
The  subject  matter  here  is  nothing  less  than  the  whole  of  life  itself. 
Any  project,  therefore,  has  to  be  a  project  in  living  for  the  sake  of 
what  the  children  can  learn  about  living.  How  can  the  actual  busi- 
ness of  living  be  a  part  of  a  school  of  religion?  Evidently  what  is 
needed  is  not  more  text-books  or  even  better  text-books,  but  more  life. 
Somehow  the  children  must  be  led  to  take  their  part  now  in  the 
building  of  the  City  of  God. 

This  analysis  of  the  exigency  in  religious  education  leads  to  the  idea 
of  ^'building  the  City  of  God."  This  may  serve  both  as  a  real  Chris- 
tian enterprise  and  as  an  effective  symbol,  associated  as  it  is  with  much 
that  is  emotional  and  dramatic  in  the  Christian  tradition.  Further- 
more, when  broken  up  into  its  essentials,  it  develops  naturally  into 
symbolisms  of  peace  rather  than  symbolisms  of  war,  and  suggests  the 
projects  of  peace  rather  than  those  of  war,  of  construction  and  con- 
servation rather  than  of  destruction  and  waste. 

In  the  course  of  the  three-year  experiment  during  which  the  build- 
ing of  the  City  of  God  was  used  as  a  general  project  in  the  Union  School 
of  Religion,  there  developed  three  minor  projects,  each  serving  as  an 
attractive,  unifying  enterprise  for  a  year.  The  first  year  was  devoted 
to  the  building  of  the  House  of  Friendship;  the  second  to  the  building 
of  the  House  of  Justice;  the  third  to  the  building  of  the  House  of 
Peace.  The  first  idea  appealed  with  especial  power  to  the  children, 
and  served  as  an  organizing  principle  for  the  whole  year's  work  in  most 
of  the  classes  as  well  as  in  the  services  of  worship.  As  classes  gradu- 
ally became  interested  in  the  idea  they  began  to  see  how  what  they 
were  doing  Sunday  by  Sunday  had  meaning  in  terms  of  a  great  pur- 
pose— to  establish  friendship  in  the  world.  In  their  discussions  they 
tried  to  discover  how  people  behave  in  the  House  of  Friendship.  In 
their  efforts  to  be  of  help  to  others  they  began  to  "take  people  in"  to 
their  House  of  Friendship:  Armenian  and  French  orphans,  the  children 
of  a  day  nursery,  various  neighboring  families  with  whom  they  were 
becoming  acquainted,  their  own  friends  and  families,  the  characters 
about  whom  they  were  studying;  Jesus,  the  great  Friend.    And  it  was 


MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  THE  STORIES  3 

not  long  before  they  found  that  when  they  took  God  into  their  House 
of  Friendship  it  became  a  veritable  House  of  God. 

As  the  first  year  drew  to  a  close  the  suggestion  was  made  that  this 
enterprise  might  easily  issue  in  a  pageant  that  would  gather  up  the 
strands  developed  by  the  various  classes  and  weave  them  into  a 
single  dramatic  representation  of  the  building  of  the  House  of  Friend- 
ship. Each  class  suggested  what  it  would  like  to  do  to  show  its 
work  for  the  year,  and  these  proposals  were  then  put  into  the  form  of  a 
pageant  by  the  teachers.  The  children  wrote  the  lines  they  spoke 
and  planned  the  scenes  in  connection  with  their  class  work.  There 
was  a  hymn- writing  contest  for  the  production  of  a  school  hymn  for 
the  occasion.  An  older  pupil  wrote  the  words  and  a  teacher  the 
music  that  were  finally  selected.  Another  teacher  wrote  the  lines 
of  the  Spirit  of  Friendship,  and  his  helpers,  Gratitude,  Goodwill, 
Reverence,  Faith  and  Loyalty,  who  wove  the  several  episodes  and 
interludes  into  an  effective  pageant,  which  closed  with  a  service  of 
worship  similar  to  the  service  held  each  Sunday  morning. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  mention  these  details  in  order  that  the 
plan  of  the  book  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  stories  may  be  understood. 
The  worship  of  the  school,  to  which  twenty  minutes  are  devoted 
every  Sunday,  was  the  center  of  the  whole  enterprise,  and  the  stories 
and  talks  contributed  much  to  the  interpretation  and  unifying  of 
the  project  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 

The  services  that  follow  form  the  basis  of  a  similar  scheme  for 
any  school  that  gives  a  central  place  to  worship. 

Although,  when  first  used,  these  three  projects — building  the 
Houses  of  Friendship,  Justice  and  Peace — occupied  three  years,  it 
will  be  of  advantage  to  bring  them  together  into  one  year's  program 
under  the  more  general  project,  ''building  the  City  of  God."  This 
is  the  plan  that  has  been  used  in  this  book. 

It  would  be  well  for  leaders  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  symbolism 
of  building  a  house  of  friendship  or  justice  or  peace  in  the  City  of 
God  is  not  to  be  taken  too  literally.  Nor  should  one  feel  bound 
at  all  by  the  use  made  of  this  figure  of  speech  in  the  stories  that  fol- 
low. For  the  most  part  the  authors  have  avoided  using  analogies 
such  as  "foundations  are  good  habits,"  and  have  confined  themselves 


4  MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  THE  STORIES 

to  a  loose  interpretation  of  the  figure.  The  concept  gains  meaning 
by  imagining  actual  conduct  rather  than  by  having  associated  with  it 
abstractions  such  as  "bricks  of  goodwill,"  or  "beams  of  sympathy." 
The  idea  should  grow  freely  in  the  minds  of  the  children  and  enough 
should  be  left  to  the  imagination  to  keep  the  symbolism  from  becoming 
trite. 

Each  story  originally  had  a  carefully  planned  setting  in  a  unified 
service,  and  its  effect  will  be  enhanced  if  pains  are  taken  to  choose 
hymns,  psalms,  scripture  and  so  on  with  reference  to  the  aim  the  leader 
of  worship  has  in  mind,  and  to  arrange  the  items  in  such  a  way 
as  to  produce  the  effect  desired.  Suggestions  are  made  that  may  aid 
in  the  construction  of  services,  and  the  prayer  to  accompany  the  story 
is  given  in  many  cases.  It  is  realized,  of  course,  that  most  leaders  will 
prefer  to  work  out  these  details  for  themselves,  but  for  those  who  for 
one  reason  or  another  cannot  plan  the  services  completely  the  orders 
of  service  that  accompany  the  stories  and  talks  may  prove  helpful.* 

*  The  author's  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship  gives  suggestions  on  planning 
services,  sample  orders  of  service,  types  of  stories,  prayers,  sentences,  and  a  bibli- 
ography of  sources. 


II 

GETTING  THE  CHILDREN  TO  HELP 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  hymns,  scripture  passages,  prayers 
and  talks  used  in  children's  services  should  be  adapted  to  the  limita- 
tions of  childhood  and  youth.  If  worship  is  to  be  a  real  and  helpful  ex- 
perience it  must  grow  out  of  and  minister  to  the  common  everyday 
problems  of  the  worshiper.  The  wise  leader  provides  for  this  in 
his  choice  of  material  to  be  used.  He  unnecessarily  limits  himself, 
however,  if  he  attempts  to  make  his  selections  or  adaptations  without 
the  aid  of  the  children.  Even  the  youngest  can  help  by  being  led  to 
discuss  the  services.  Their  comments  will  reveal  what  they  understand 
and  what  they  do  not,  and  will  also  show  what  parts  of  the  service 
attract  them  most.  The  older  children  can  suggest  story  material, 
prepare  unison  prayers  and  sometimes  assist  in  leading  the  worship. 
When  the  pupils  help,  there  is  greater  assurance  that  what  is  done 
will  meet  their  needs. 

Beyond  the  aid  the  leader  may  get  from  the  children,  there  is  the 
psychological  necessity  for  cooperation  on  their  part  if  the  best  results 
are  to  be  secured.  In  other  phases  of  the  school  work  we  have  long 
seen  the  educational  value  of  initiative  and  self -activity.  In  worship, 
however,  we  have  been  content  to  follow  traditional  procedures  and 
leave  everything  to  the  leader  or  to  custom.  The  result  is  that  wor- 
ship is  for  many  persons  unreal  and  unimportant.  They  have  no 
responsibility  for  it. 

The  best  leadership  and  the  finest  material  will  fail  to  secure  wor- 
ship if  the  pupils  do  not  feel  that  they  have  a  vital  part  in  controlling 
the  service.  This  feeling  they  will  get  at  first  simply  when  attempt 
is  made  by  the  leader  to  meet  their  own  needs  in  the  service  and  to 
give  them  something  to  do  in  it.  But  nowadays,  when  children  are 
being  taught  to  take  responsibility,  to  share  in  the  life  of  grown 

5 


6  GETTING  THE  CHILDREN  TO  HELP 

people,  to  learn  by  actual  performance,  they  will  not  long  be  content 
to  be  irresponsible  participants  in  what  should  be  the  most  interesting 
and  beautiful  of  all  their  experiences. 

How,  then,  can  we  secure  their  cooperation?  Various  ways  have 
been  tried.  Others  will  be  devised  by  progressive  schools.  When  the 
school  has  not  been  used  to  carefully  planned  services,  probably  the 
best  way  is  to  begin  by  deliberately  changing  the  programs  so  as  to  be 
certain  of  changing  the  attitude  of  the  children.  After  they  have 
had  some  experience  on  the  plane  of  real  worship,  their  cooperation 
can  be  enlisted.  For  example,  if  some  unison  prayer  has  been  used, 
the  children  might  be  asked  whether  they  would  like  to  have  their 
own  unison  prayer.  Would  they  like  to  write  it  themselves?  Would 
they  all  like  to  make  some  contribution  to  it?  Each  might  bring  in 
either  a  sentence  or  a  whole  prayer,  and  a  committee  of  pupils  with 
the  leader  could  take  the  contributions  and  construct  out  of  them  a 
short  prayer  for  the  school,  using  the  children's  own  phrases.  All  idea 
of  contest  should  of  course  be  avoided.  The  teachers  would  then  follow 
up  this  suggestion  in  each  class,  possibly  taking  advantage  of  this 
occasion  to  discuss  the  meaning  of  prayer  with  the  children,  and 
including  this  enterprise  in  the  home  work  for  this  week. 

When  projects  such  as  those  used  in  this  book  are  adopted  and 
launched,  the  pupils  themselves  will  take  a  real  interest  in  their 
development.  It  will  be  noticed  that  only  ten  or  eleven  services  have 
been  included  under  each  of  the  three  Parts.  This  leaves  opportunity 
for  the  introduction  of  services  that  have  local  color,  that  arise  out 
of  local  needs  and  interests,  or  that  may  be  planned  by  the  children. 
When  the  "House  of  Friendship"  was  built,  a  class  of  eighth  grade 
girls  wrote  one  of  the  stories  told  by  the  leader.  Wider  use  could 
well  be  made  of  this  ability  of  the  children.  With  the  help  of  teachers, 
the  classes  can  be  led,  little  by  little,  to  see  the  relation  of  their  lessons 
to  the  current  themes  of  the  worship  and  to  think  what  contributions 
could  be  made  to  the  worship  from  their  own  lessons. 

In  regard  to  hymns,  it  would  assist  in  their  intelligent  use  to  have 
the  school  choose  a  favorite  song  for  each  season,  or  for  each  theme. 
The  necessity  of  coming  to  a  decision  will  be  a  real  motive  for  the 
careful  study  of  many  hymns.    Those  chosen  as  school  favorites  could 


GETTING  THE  CHILDREN  TO  HELP  7 

be  memorized,  by  vote  of  the  pupils.  Or  the  favorite  hymn  of  each 
class,  with  the  reasons  for  the  choices,  might  be  posted.  The  same 
procedure  would  help  in  the  wise  and  effective  use  of  psalms. 

When  intermediate  or  senior  groups  meet  with  younger  children 
there  is  always  the  possibility  of  sharing  with  them  the  leadership  of 
the  services.  The  reading  of  the  scripture  lesson,  leading  unison  or 
responsive  selections,  or  occasional  leadership  in  prayer  are  practical 
forms  of  assistance.  These  young  people  will  of  course  need  time  for 
preparation  and  some  training  in  delivery. 

Greater  interest  and  more  effective  cooperation  may  be  secured  by 
having  the  older  classes  take  turns  in  being  responsible  for  the  whole 
service  a  few  times  during  the  year.  This  will  make  necessary  their 
study  of  the  particular  project  that  is  under  way,  and  will  help 
them  to  get  the  most  out  of  the  services  as  they  go  along,  both  from 
their  own  point  of  view,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  others 
in  the  school.  The  socializing  value  of  such  enterprises  is  beyond 
calculation. 


Ill 

FOLLOWING  UP  THE  SERVICES  AND  TESTING  RESULTS 

In  connection  with  each  of  the  services  that  follow,  suggestions  are 
made  for  teachers  in  following  up  the  effects  of  the  worship.  It  is 
easy  for  such  follow-up  work  to  degenerate  into  mere  quizzing  or 
even  into  inquisition  or  prying  into  the  souls  of  the  children  to  see 
whether  they  are  properly  edified  by  the  leader's  talk  or  prayer.  The 
teacher  is  not  a  spy.  He  is  a  leader  of  worship.  As  much  depends 
upon  his  sympathetic  and  whole-hearted  participation  in  the  service 
as  upon  the  particular  teacher  who  stands  in  front  of  the  school.  And 
as  much  depends  upon  what  the  teacher  or  parents  do  in  subsequent 
class  or  home  discussions  as  upon  the  period  of  worship  itself.  Wor- 
ship, instruction  and  service  are  not  three  independent  school  activi- 
ties. They  are  one.  Only  in  worship  certain  things  are  emphasized 
which  are  not  emphasized  in  study  and  in  action.  Unless  the  worship 
finds  its  occasion  in  the  pupils'  own  life-experiences,  whether  in  class, 
or  at  home,  or  school,  or  on  the  street,  and  brings  its  inspiration  to 
bear  upon  these  vital  interests  and  situations  of  childhood,  it  is  of 
small  concern. 

The  worship,  therefore,  is  part  of  the  teacher's  responsibility. 

There  are  several  distinct  ways  in  which  teachers  and  parents 
can  contribute  to  the  worship  period.  First,  there  is  the  actual 
service  itself.  Here  the  teacher  can  be  of  great  help  by  example.  The 
sympathetic  teacher  of  boys  is  under  no  obligation  to  behave  in  wor- 
ship as  he  would  on  a  hike.  He  loses  influence  just  to  the  extent  that 
his  behavior  is  inappropriate  to  the  occasion.  Boys  expect  dignity 
when  dignity  is  called  for,  and  they  have  a  right  to  the  support  that 
dignified  and  sincere  participation  in  worship  on  their  teacher's  part 
will  give  to  their  own  less  stable  yet  truly  earnest  selves.     Younger 

8 


FOLLOWING  UP  THE  SERVICES  9 

children  need  help  in  finding  places,  and  occasional  cautions  are  neces- 
sary, but  here,  too,  it  is  the  teacher's  example  that  counts  for  most. 

In  the  second  place,  the  teacher,  and  the  parents  too,  can  help 
by  preparing  the  children  for  the  services.  Such  items  as  are  to 
be  used  in  common  may  be  memorized.  This  should  be  done  in  con- 
nection with  the  regular  class  work.  Hymns  and  psalms  and  unison 
prayers  will  need  to  be  studied  so  as  to  make  sure  that  they  are 
really  understood.  Erroneous  impressions  resulting  from  a  misun- 
derstanding of  words  and  ideas  prevent  the  best  use  of  the  period  of 
worship.  When  a  child  remembers  "Dare  to  have  a  purpose  fine,"  as 
"Dare  to  have  a  purple  spine,"  the  conditions  for  good  results  are 
not  present. 

The  order  of  worship  needs  to  be  gone  over  in  class  so  that  the 
children  will  know  what  to  expect.  Younger  children  need  practice 
with  the  song  books — finding  places  quickly  and  quietly  and  using  the 
printed  page  reverently.  The  mechanics  of  worship  must  be  reduced 
to  a  habit  so  that  attention  can  be  given  to  the  meaning  of  what  is 
taking  place.  The  teacher's  slogans,  then,  are: 
Memorize  what  is  to  be  used  from  memory; 
Clear  up  all  misconceptions; 

Enrich,  by  discussion,  the  meaning  of  prayers,  hymns  and  psalms; 
Practice  reverently  the  mechanics  of  the  worship. 
In  the  third  place,  the  teachers  and  parents  can  help  by  finding 
out  what  the  children  are  impressed  by  in  the  service.  In  the  case 
of  younger  children,  the  service  can  be  discussed  every  Sunday. 
Older  children  may  not  wish  to  talk  about  it  so  often,  but  may  wait 
for  some  especially  attractive  story  or  helpful  prayer  as  an  occasion 
for  discussion.  Spontaneous  comments  are  the  most  reliable  guides 
to  the  effects  of  the  service,  and  these  should  be  recorded  by  teachers 
and  parents  and  passed  on  to  the  leader  of  worship. 

Children  of  Junior  ages  and  younger  grades  will  usually  want  to 
talk  about  the  service  if  it  has  been  effective.  The  class  session, 
therefore,  should  ordinarily  provide  opportunity  for  this.  Thus  the 
habit  of  comment  is  established,  and  with  it  the  habit  of  increasing 
participation.  What  the  children  regularly  attend  to  depends  largely 
upon  what  they  afterwards  have  occasion  to  refer  to  consciously. 


10  FOLLOWING  UP  THE  SERVICES 

This  introduces  the  fourth  point:  The  teachers  can  help  secure 
the  proper  effects  of  the  worship  period  by  directing  the  pupil's  con- 
versation about  it.  The  children's  sense  of  the  unity  of  the  whole 
Sunday  session  is  promoted  by  carrying  over  the  thoughts,  attitudes 
and  interests  of  the  worship  into  the  class  period.  This  is  particularly 
necessary  for  the  success  of  such  school  projects  as  are  proposed  in 
this  book.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  teachers  will  be  able  to  follow  up  the 
service  most  effectively  when  they  know  in  advance  the  story  to  be 
told  by  the  leader. 

In  order  to  help  the  teachers  and  parents  in  the  guidance  of  these 
conversations,  questions  are  appended  to  each  service.  Some  are 
appropriate  for  older  children,  some  for  younger  ones.  They  are 
intended  only  as  a  suggestion  of  the  sort  of  questions  one  may  ask 
to  promote  thoughtful  discussion.  They  are  not  to  be  formally  asked, 
as  one  would  set  an  examination.  Rather  are  they  the  unconscious 
guide  of  teachers  or  mothers  or  fathers  as  they  try  to  be  the  sym- 
pathetic companions  of  the  children  in  these  deeper  experiences  of 
their  lives. 

Finally,  and  perhaps  this  is  the  most  important  contribution, 
teachers  and  parents  can  help  by  telling  the  leader  of  worship  about 
difficult  problems  children  are  facing  or  especially  interesting  activi- 
ties in  which  they  are  engaging  in  class  or  in  clubs  or  by  themselves. 
These  concrete  problems  and  interests  can  frequently  be  made  the 
basis  of  a  service  that  will  seem  all  the  more  real  to  the  children  be- 
cause it  touches  so  closely  their  daily  experience.  Significant  events 
that  are  of  common  concern,  such  as  some  unusual  sorrow  or  good 
fortune,  have  a  central  place  in  every  church-school  program,  no 
matter  what  printed  material  may  be  used  by  the  leader.  It  is  the 
human  elements,  the  homely  incidents,  the  friendly  interests  that 
transform  mere  ritual  into  the  worship  of  the  God  who  cares. 


FOLLOWING  UP  THE  SERVICES  11 

General  Questions 
To  be  used  by  teachers  or  parents  to  follow  up  services 

To  save  repetition,  certain  types  of  questions  that  are  appropriate 
to  almost  any  service  are  appended  here.  The  special  emphasis  of 
these  questions  is  on  the  proper  direction  of  attention  and  on  the 
discovery  of  the  effects  of  worship. 

Did  you  enjoy  the  service  this  morning? 

What  did  you  like  about  it  especially? 
(Variety  of  answers  may  be  expected.) 

What  was  it  you  liked  about  the  music  (story,  hymns,  etc.,  or  what- 
ever may  be  mentioned)?     (Comments  should  be  noted.) 

Would  you  like  to  read  that  hymn  again? 

(Here  is  an  opportunity  to  discuss  its  meaning,  particularly  in 
relation  to  the  day's  topic.) 

We  read  a  prayer  together  this  morning.  When  we  use  the  Lord's 
Prayer  we  say  it  from  memory.  Would  you  like  to  say  this  prayer 
from  memory  too?  Let's  read  it  together  again.  (Then  ask  ques- 
tions on  the  meaning  of  phrases  and  get  a  wealth  of  associations 
in  the  minds  of  the  children  for  each  sentence.  Afterwards,  they 
will  more  easily  learn  it  by  heart  during  the  week.) 

In  a  similar  way  other  features  of  the  service  to  be  memorized  or  dis- 
cussed may  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  children  in  the 
spirit  of  the  worship  itself. 

Did  the  story  remind  you  of  anything  we  are  doing  together?  (In 
case  the  service  is  initiating  some  new  school  enterprise)  How 
can  we  do  our  share  in  this? 

(At  home)  What  did  you  think  about  in  the  service  to-day?    We'd 


12  FOLLOWING  UP  THE  SERVICES 

like  to  hear  about  it.  (Every  real  effort  to  report  should  be  re- 
ceived with  appreciation  but  not  with  applause.)  Was  anything 
said  that  we  ought  to  know  about  at  home?  (If  the  story  stands 
out  prominently,  it  can  be  retold  to  advantage.) 
Parents  should  be  on  the  watch  for  evidences  of  the  effect  of  the 
services  on  the  children's  ideas  and  actions. 


IV 

WORSHIP  AND  SERVICE 

The  suggestion  was  made  in  the  preceding  section  that  the  wor- 
ship should  be  connected  as  closely  as  possible  with  the  children's 
enterprises.  In  the  first  section  a  scheme  was  proposed  for  interpreting 
these  enterprises  in  such  a  way  as  to  clarify  their  purpose  and  add 
to  their  motivation  by  associating  them  with  the  great  Christian 
cause  itself.  The  latter  proposal  is  provided  for  in  the  project:  "Build- 
ing the  City  of  God."  Into  this  framework  must  be  woven  the  actual 
school  activities  to  which  the  larger  project  is  to  lend  color  and  force. 
The  project  is  carried  by  the  thirty-two  services  which  follow,  all 
of  which  can  be  used  by  any  school  or  will  suggest  similar  story 
material.  In  a  school  year  of  forty- four  Sundays,  this  leaves  twelve 
services  to  be  woven  into  the  framework.  It  is  particularly  in  these 
twelve  services  that  the  local  school  causes  and  interests  can  best  find 
a  place.  Special  festival  services  at  Christmas  and  Easter,  at  Rally 
Day  or  Children's  Day,  will  need  special  forms  and  subject  matter. 
Denominational  drives,  whether  perennial  or  occasional,  need  the  time 
of  the  assembly  now  and  then.  Relief  enterprises,  such  as  Near 
East  Relief  campaigns,  and  missionary  projects  of  church  or  school, 
can  also  be  pursued  on  the  Sundays  thus  left  available. 

But  all  these  matters  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  outside  the  building 
of  the  City  of  God.  They  are  the  building  of  the  city.  These  are 
specific  tasks,  and  constant  reference  to  them  is  needed  to  give  to 
the  project  the  sense  of  reality,  just  as  the  project  is  needed  to  give 
to  these  tasks  the  flavor  of  adventure  and  romance  that  rightfully 
belongs  to  them. 

When,  therefore,  some  special  drive,  such  as  the  Armenian,  comes 
during  the  building  of  the  House  of  Friendship,  let  it  be  made  a  part 
of  this  project.    Let  the  Armenian  children  be  taken  into  our  House 

13 


14  WORSHIP  AND  SERVICE 

of  Friendship  and  made  to  feel  at  home.  When  some  local  philan- 
thropic interest  is  being  attended  to  while  the  House  of  Justice  is 
being  built,  let  the  occasions  for  this  philanthropy  that  grow  out  of 
our  unjust  disregard  for  the  handicapped,  the  immigrant,  the  defective, 
the  sick,  be  uppermost  in  the  services,  and  let  the  concrete  effects  of 
our  neglect  add  motive  to  our  desire  to  be  fair  to  all  our  brothers. 
If  some  foreign  enterprise  comes  up  while  the  House  of  Peace  is 
being  built,  let  the  establishment  of  real  friendship  among  the  chil- 
dren of  the  world  as  an  essential  condition  of  peace  be  realized,  or  let 
it  be  seen  how  in  the  quarrels  of  children  the  very  same  kinds  of  pur- 
poses are  felt  that  lead  great  nations  to  go  to  war  and  destroy  all 
friendship  in  the  world. 

The  "results"  of  this  year's  program  will  not  be  visible  in  the 
form  of  definitions  or  handwork.  No  more  stories  will  be  learned  than 
would  be  learned  without  this  project.  But  it  is  hoped  that  a  new 
spirit  will  be  discovered  in  the  school  that  "builds  the  City  of  God," 
that  friendship,  justice  and  peace,  for  which  we  so  constantly  pray, 
will  have  become  a  part  of  its  conscious  purpose,  and  that  its  daily 
work  will  catch  something  of  the  joy  and  the  glory  of  the  Christian 
life. 


STORIES,  PRAYERS,  QUESTIONS,  AND 
ORDERS  OF  SERVICE 


PART  I 
THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP* 

FROM   RALLY  DAY  TO  CHRISTMAS 

Call  to  Worshifr:  This  is  the  House  of  God,  a  house  of  the  spirit  not  made 
with  hands,  and  they  that  worship  God  herein  must  worship  Him  in  spirit 
and  in  truth. 

ORDERS  OF  SERVICE 

FROM  WHICH  ONE  OR  MORE  MAY  BE  SELECTED  FOR  THE  PERIOD 

Without  Choir  With  Choir 


1.  Instrumental  Prelude 

2.  Call  to  Worship 

3.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

4.  Hymn 

5.  Scripture 

6.  Story  or  Talk 

7.  Prayer 

8.  Hymn 

9.  Unison  Benediction 
10.  Instrumental  Postlude 


1.  Instrumental   Prelude 

2.  Call  to  Worship 

3.  Hymn 

4.  Psalm 

5.  The  Lord's  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 
(Scripture) 

6.  Story   or   Talk 

7.  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 

8.  Hymn 

9.  Unison  Prayer  or 

Benediction  sung  by  Choir 


1.  Call  to  Worship 

2.  One  stanza  of  a  hymn  of  praise 

or  a  Psalm 

3.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

4.  Hymn 

5.  Story  or  Talk 

6.  Prayer 

7.  Offertory     Sentence     and    Offer- 

ing f 

8.  Offertory  Prayer — sung  by  school 

9.  Unison  Prayer 
10.  Hymn 


1.  Processional  Hymn 

2.  Psalm 

3.  The  Lord's  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 

4.  Scripture  Lesson 

5.  Hymn 

6.  Story  or  Talk 

7.  Prayer,   School  Amen 

8.  Choir  Sentence 

9.  Unison    Prayer,    Choir   Amen 
10.  Benediction,  Choir  Amen 
ir.  Recessional  Hymn 

*  Corresponding  to  the  periods  of  Gratitude  and  Goodwill  as  described  in  the 
Manual  for  Training  in  Worship. 

t  If  the  offering  is  to  be  taken  in  connection  with  either  of  the  other  services  it 
should  come  after  the  seventh  item.  Other  changes  will  readily  be  made.  Un- 
necessary announcements  should  be  avoided  and  irrelevant  announcements  should 
come  after  the  close  of  the  service. 

17 


The  City  of  God  * 

Scripture:     Rev.  21:1-4;   Is.  52:7-10;   60:18-19. 
Psalm:     roo. 

Hymns:  "We've  a  story  to  tell  to  the  nations ;"  "City  of  God ;"  "Hail  to  the 
brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morning;"  "Thy  kingdom  come,  O  Lord." 

Two  children  were  lost  in  the  city.  One  was  ten  and  the  other 
five.  A  friendly  policeman  asked  them  where  they  lived.  ''We  live 
in  the  house  with  glass  doors,"  said  the  five-year-old,  "where  the 
halls  have  walls  of  marble,  and  an  elevator  goes  up  and  down."  But 
the  ten-year-old  said:  "We  live  at  542  North  Avenue."  Which  was 
right?  I  think  maybe  the  younger  one  was  right,  and  she  might 
have  added,  "in  the  world  of  giants  and  fairies": 

"Green  jacket,  red  cap, 
And  white  owl's  feather." 

We  live  in  the  world  we  see  around  us  and  dream  about.  For 
some,  our  city  is  just  our  home,  and  the  sidewalk  to  school,  and  the 
schoolroom.  Some  of  you  have  taken  the  ferry  across  to  Staten 
Island,  and  you  have  looked  back  at  that  huge  mass  of  buildings  piled 
against  the  sky  and  the  great  bridges  spanning  the  East  River,  and 
with  something  like  pride  you  have  said  to  yourselves,  "This  is  my 
city."  You  are  citizens  of  New  York.  Some  of  you  have  been  read- 
ing about  the  Panama  Canal,  of  how  this  country  achieved  this  great- 
est engineering  feat  of  history,  and  you  have  said,  "My  country  did 
that,"  and  as  you  look  at  this  flag  there's  a  wholesome  pride  in  the 
thought  that  you  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Some  of  you  have  been  sending  money  to  the  Belgians  and  making 
things  for  them.    Why  did  you  do  it?    Because  you  felt  that  they  are 

*  From  the  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,  p.  84,  copyright  1915,  by  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons. 

18 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  19 

fellow  citizens  of  yours.  Fellow  citizens  of  what?  Why,  of  the 
world.     You  are  citizens  of  the  world. 

Some  of  you  have  been  reading  stories  of  heroes  and  heroines — 
Abraham,  Joseph,  Livingstone,  Lincoln,  Garrison,  Washington,  Flor- 
ence Nightingale,  Paul,  Luther.  And  the  more  you  know  about  these 
men  and  women  the  more  clearly  you  see  that  they  were  very  much 
like  us.  They  were  children  once.  They  grew  up  by  studying  and 
playing  and  working  and  eating  and  sleeping,  just  as  we  do.  They 
are  our  fellow  citizens — but  where?  Of  our  country?  No;  many 
were  foreigners.  Of  the  world?  No;  they  are  dead.  Where,  then? 
Why,  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  You  will  never  be  satisfied  until  you 
have  pledged  your  allegiance  as  citizens  of  the  City  of  God. 

Where  is  this  City  of  God?  It  is  within  you.  These  heroes  whom 
you  have  never  seen — where  are  they?  They  are  in  your  heart. 
You  are  building  this  city.  You  are  piling  up  its  domes  and  spires  and 
turrets,  for  it  is  a  city  not  made  with  hands  but  built  out  of  spiritual 
fellowships  with  the  noble  men  and  women  of  all  times  and  places, 
who  are  your  fellow  citizens. 

If,  as  you  look  around  you,  you  see  only  dirt  and  squalor  and 
meanness  and  crime,  you  do  not  dwell  in  the  City  of  God.  But  if  yot 
see,  shining  through  all  things,  the  spirit  of  faith  and  hope  and  love 
and  courage  and  nobility  and  honor  and  self-sacrifice,  you  are  living 
in  the  City  of  God — the  city  not  made  with  hands,  which  cometh 
down  out  of  heaven  from  God. 

"Hail,  the  glorious  Golden  City, 

Pictured  by  the  seers  of  old! 
Everlasting  light  shines  o'er  it ; 

Wondrous  tales  of  it  are  told: 
Only  righteous  men  and  women 

Dwell  within  its  gleaming  wall; 
Wrong  is  banished  from  its  borders, 

Justice  reigns  supreme  o'er  all. 

We  are  builders  of  that  city; 

All  our  joys  and  all  our  groans 
Help  to  rear  its  shining  ramparts; 

All  our  lives  are  building-stones: 
Whether  humble  or  exalted, 


20  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

All  are  called  to  task  divine; 
All  must  aid  alike  to  carry 
Forward  one  sublime  design. 

And  the  work  that  we  have  builded, 

Oft  with  bleeding  hands  and  tears, 
And  in  error  and  in  anguish, 

Will   not  perish   with  our  years: 
It  will  last   and   shine   transfigured 

In  the  final  reign  of  Right; 
It  will  merge  into  the  splendors 

Of  the  City  of  the  Light." 

— Felix   Adler. 

PRAYER 

O  Thou  who  dwellest  in  the  glorious  golden  city,  the  life  of 
whose  people  is  an  everlasting  life,  full  of  peace  and  joy  and  justice, 
we  come  to  Thee,  each  with  his  own  little  world  of  shattered  hopes,  of 
failures  and  disappointments  and  sins.  Open  before  the  eyes  of  our 
imaginations  the  gates  of  Thy  city,  that  we  may  see  within  it  the 
hopes  fulfilled,  the  failures  and  sins  overcome.  And  may  we  come 
to  dwell  there,  citizens  of  Thy  commonwealth  and  fellow  citizens  of 
the  men  and  women  and  children  of  all  places  and  all  times  who  have 
loved  Thee  with  an  imperishable  love. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  men  and  women  by  whose  wisdom  this 
nation  has  been  guided  in  the  past.  Safeguard  us  through  the  years. 
Grant  that  with  honor  and  courage  and  self-forgetfulness  we  may 
earnestly  seek  friendship  and  justice  and  peace  for  all  the  nations. 

And  from  our  own  lives  we  would  banish  all  hatred  and  bitter- 
ness and  quarreling,  and  strive  to  share,  each  in  his  own  way,  in  the 
building  of  the  City  of  God.  And  to  Jesus,  the  Master-workman, 
we  now  pledge  our  strength  and  love.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

Note:  In  order  that  the  services  and  the  questions  may  be  used 
to  the  best  advantage,  leaders  and  teachers  should  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  suggestions  made  in  the  Introduction.  These  ques- 
tions and  those  that  follow  each  story  are  primarily  for  the  purpose 
of  promoting  thoughtful  conversation  and  giving  direction  to  interests 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  21 

stimulated  in  the  service.  Some  are  appropriate  for  younger  chil- 
dren; some  for  older.  Usually  there  are  three  groups  representing 
roughly  ages  6-9,  10-12,  13-18.  It  is  not  supposed  that  all  will  be 
used  by  any  teacher  or  that  they  will  be  used  as  a  formal  exercise. 
Rather  with  these  questions  in  mind  as  typical  of  the  sort  of  follow- 
up  work  that  is  needed  to  make  the  service  most  effective,  the  teacher 
or  parent  will  proceed  freely  to  select  and  devise  his  own  way  of  ap- 
proach to  the  pupils. 

General  questions  that  apply  to  any  service  are  given  on  page  11. 

1.  (After  asking  some  of  the  general  questions.)     Did  you  ever  think  before 

how  the  world  we  live  in  is  really  the  world  we  think  about?    How  was  it  

(naming  the  leader)  put  it?  One  or  two  of  the  hymns  had  the  same  thought.  So 
did  the  Scripture  lesson.  Do  you  recall  any  other  passages  in  the  Bible  about  the 
City  of  God  or  the  Kingdom  of  God — e.g.,  Heb.  11:9-10,  and  the  parables  of  the 
kingdom  (Matt.  13,  etc.),  Matt.  6:33,  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

2.  As  Christians  what  is  it  we  are  really  trying  to  do  in  the  world?  What  can 
we  (the  class  or  the  family  or  the  club)  do  this  year  to  help  build  the  City  of  God? 

3.  Does  a  person  have  to  be  a  citizen  of  any  particular  country?  Is  a  person 
obliged  to  be  a  citizen  in  God's  City?  What  are  some  of  the  qualifications  for 
citizenship?    Where  can  we  find  out? 


The  House  of  Friendship  * 

Scripture:     Isaiah  6i :  i,  2a,  4-6,  8-1 1. 
Psalm:    23. 

Hymns:  "Lead  on,  O  King  eternal;"  "God  of  our  fathers,  whose  almighty 
hand ;"  "The  King  of  Love  my  shepherd  is." 

What  kind  of  houses  shall  we  build  in  the  City  of  God? 

Ever  since  we  can  remember  we  have  all  been  building  houses. 
We  began  when  we  were  very  small  and  had  blocks  to  play  with. 
We  built  houses  with  our  blocks  and  then  we  knocked  them  down 
again.  Now  that  we  are  older  perhaps  some  of  us  build  houses  out 
of  wood  for  our  sisters  to  use  for  their  dolls.  Or  it  may  be  that  we 
build  houses  for  our  friends  the  birds  to  live  in,  or  real  houses,  when 
father  or  the  carpenter  helps  us,  for  the  car,  or  even  to  live  in  our- 
selves in  the  summer. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  house  that  we  all  build.  Castles  in 
the  air  we  call  them.  They  are  "pretend"  houses.  You  know  the  fair 
palaces  we  build  in  our  imaginations,  full  of  mysterious  dungeons 
and  secret  passages  and  stairways  and  wonderful  rooms.  Or  our 
pretend  houses  are  just  made  of  things  that  are  going  to  happen  to  us 
when  we  grow  up;  there  is  the  prince  or  the  princess  whom  we  will 
marry  some  day;  or  there  is  that  voyage  we  shall  take  to  some  far 
distant  country;  or  there  is  the  work  that  we  shall  do  that  will 
astonish  the  world. 

And  then  there  is  another  kind  of  house.  It  is  very  much  like 
the  second  kind,  only  it  is  not  a  pretend  house.  It  hasn't  any  walls; 
it  hasn't  any  ceilings;  it  hasn't  any  floors.  Yet  it  is  a  real  house  and 
we  live  in  it  all  the  time. 

When  we  are  at  school  we  live  in  a  house  of  study.  It  has  books 
in  it,  and  tools  and  pictures  and  laboratories.    Our  schoolmates  are 

*  Reprinted  from  Everyland,  April,  1919. 

22  i 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  23 

there,  and  so  are  all  the  people  about  whom  we  are  studying.  It 
hasn't  any  walls;  it  hasn't  any  ceilings;  it  hasn't  any  floors.  It  is  a 
house  of  the  spirit  not  made  with  hands. 

At  home  we  live  in  a  house  of  rest  and  comfort.  It  is  a  house  of 
good  times,  and  good  things  to  eat  and  to  read  and  to  enjoy.  And 
this  house  has  no  walls,  nor  ceilings,  nor  floors.  It  is  a  house  of  the 
spirit  not  made  with  hands. 

What  sort  of  a  house  are  we  building  at  Sunday  school  and  church? 
It  is  a  Isigger  house  than  all  of  these.  It  also  is  a  house  of  the  spirit; 
for  it  has  no  walls;  it  has  no  ceilings;  it  has  no  floors.  Yet  it  is  a 
very  real  house.  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is.  It  is  the  House  of  Friend- 
ship. So  many  people  live  in  it:  our  playmates  and  our  teachers;  our 
fathers  and  mothers;  the  French  orphans  we  adopted;  the  Armenian 
children  who  would  have  starved  to  death  if  we  had  not  shared  our 
food  with  them;  all  the  great  men  and  women,  the  heroes  and  heroines 
of  whom  we  are  reading  in  school;  all  the  friends  we  once  knew  but 
whose  faces  we  can  no  longer  see;  and  Jesus,  the  great  Friend.  What 
a  big  house  it  is!     But  it  has  to  be  a  big  house,  for  friendship  is  big. 

Let  us  help  build  a  House  of  Friendship,  then,  in  the  City  of  God. 
The  great  Father  will  live  in  it  with  us  if  we  want  Him  to.  And  if 
He  does,  then  our  House  of  Friendship  will  be  the  House  of  God.* 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO  USE  IN   GUIDING   CONVTIRSATIONS    CONCERNING   THE   SERVICE 

(See  note  on  page  20) 

For  general  questions,  see  p.  11.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  force  the  idea 
of  the  House  of  Friendship.     Let  it  rather  grow  slowly  and  naturally. 

I.  In  answering  general  questions  and  talking  about  the  worship,  the  children 
will  of  themselves  say  something  about  the  House  of  Friendship.  Let  them  tell 
what  it  is,  and  how  big  it  is.  Let  them  suggest  particular  persons  who  belong  to 
their  house  of  friendship.  If  the  class  has  already  started  some  form  of  service 
the  children  may  be  asked  whether  they  think  this  is  helping  to  build  the  House  of 
Friendship.  In  a  similar  way,  if  the  story  has  to  do  with  some  friendly  deed  or 
some  admired  personality,  this  can  be  taken  into  the  scheme  by  suggesting:  Our 
story  to-day  is  about  the  very  House  of  Friendship  that  we  are  building. 

♦Leaders  who  would  like  suggestions  for  appropriate  prayers  will  find  help  in 
the  prayers  of  the  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship. 


24  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

2.  Older  pupils  will  come  to  the  idea  somewhat  more  slowly.  The  boys, 
although  interested,  may  prefer  not  to  talk  about  it.  But  they,  too,  can  under- 
stand that  "as  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  Possibly  the  best  thing  to 
do  at  this  stage  is  to  make  casual  references  to  the  idea  of  the  House  of  Friendship 
during  the  class  session  and  to  make  some  use  of  the  figure  in  the  closing  prayer 
of  the  class  or  in  the  grace  at  Sunday  dinner,  and  during  the  week  in  table  con- 
versation. 


3 

The  Friendly  Engine  * 

Scripture:     James  i :  19-27. 
Psalm:    27. 

Hymns:  "Father,  hear  the  prayer  we  offer;"  "Fight  the  good  fight;"  "Soldiers 
of  Christ,  arise." 

If  it  weren't  for  the  railroads  how  very  small  our  House  of  Friend- 
ship would  be.  It  would  take  so  long  to  go  from  one  room  to  another, 
and  to  carry  food  and  coal  and  other  things  folks  need,  from  one 
place  to  another.  Yet  last  week  we  thought  it  would  have  to  be 
a  big  house,  because  friendship  is  so  big.  Of  course  there  are  many 
places  where  there  are  no  railroads  yet,  and  many  people  that  never 
have  a  chance  to  ride.  We  wish  they  might,  for  we  know  what  fun 
it  is  to  look  out  of  the  car  window  as  we  rush  through  the  country 
for  miles  and  miles,  and  we  know  how  much  it  means  to  us  to  have 
good  things  brought  to  our  very  doors  from  all  over  the  world. 

One  winter  there  was  a  tremendous  snow-storm  in  the  great  city. 
Day  after  day  the  snow  fell  fast  and  thick,  until  it  was  so  deep  that 
people  could  hardly  walk  and  the  trains  were  all  shut  up  in  the  sta- 
tions. This  was  very  serious  indeed,  for  it  meant  that  the  children 
could  have  no  milk — the  trains  could  not  bring  it  in  from  the  country. 

Finally  one  man  had  a  happy  idea.  He  made  his  way  through 
the  great  drifts  to  the  train  shed  and  hunted  around  until  he  found 
a  big,  black  engine.  Speaking  very  politely  to  the  engine,  he  said 
"Please,  sir,  we  are  in  great  trouble  because  we  have  no  milk  for  the 
children.  I  know  it  is  very  cold  outside,  and  the  snow  is  deep,  but 
won't  you  take  me  to  the  country  so  I  can  get  the  milk?" 

But  the  big  engine  drew  himself  up  proudly  and  said  with  a  snort, 
"I  should  like  you  to  know  that  I  am  the  fast  express  to  Chicago. 
I  don't  associate  with  milk  trains!" 

*  Reprinted  from  Evcryland,  May,  1919. 

25 


26  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

One  or  two  other  engines  felt  the  same  way  about  it,  but  finally 
the  man  found  a  little  engine  standing  in  a  corner  all  by  himself  and 
began  to  tell  the  engine  all  about  the  children  who  had  no  milk.  Al- 
most before  he  had  finished  speaking  the  little  engine  said,  "I'm  not 
very  big,  but  perhaps  I  could  do  that.    Couple  me  up,  and  I'll  try." 

When  the  man  heard  that,  he  jumped  into  the  engine  cab,  but- 
toned up  his  coat,  and  turned  up  his  collar.  The  little  engine  puffed 
himself  out  of  the  shed  and  took  hold  of  a  train  of  cars  that  was 
standing  near  by,  and  so  they  started  into  the  storm.  It  was  pretty 
hard  going,  and  the  little  engine  cheered  himself  along  by  singing  the 
song  you  always  hear  the  engines  singing,  sometimes  slowly,  some- 
times very  fast,  "I  think  I  can — I  think  I  can."  * 

On  and  on  they  went,  pushing  their  way  through  the  snow 
until  they  came  to  the  open  country.  And  all  the  time  the  little  engine 
was  working  as  hard  as  he  could  work,  and  singing,  "I  think  I  can — 
I  think  I  can — I  think  I  can." 

It  was  bad  enough  on  the  level  ground,  but  soon  they  came  to  a 
hill,  and  the  engine  puffed  and  panted  so  that  his  song  came  out  in 
jerks :  "I — think — I — can, — I — think — I — can." 

Slowly  and  more  slowly  he  went,  so  that  it  seemed  as  though  he 
never  would  reach  the  top.  But  on  he  puffed,  a  little  farther,  a  little 
higher,  until  he  could  just  see  the  station  lights  winking  at  him  through 
the  snow.    Now  for  one  last  pull:  " — I — think — I — can." 

His  breath  was  almost  gone.    "I think 1 can!" 

And  he  did! 

Then  the  farmers  brought  their  milk  in  great  cans,  and  it  was 
loaded  on  the  cars,  and  the  little  engine,  after  he  had  rested  a  while, 
turned  around,  took  hold  of  the  other  end  of  the  train,  and  started  back 
to  the  city  and  the  hungry  children.  And  all  the  way  home  he  sang 
a  happy  little  song.  It  sounded  like  this:  "I  thought  I  could  I  thought 
I  could  I  thought  I  could." 

We'd  find  it  pretty  hard  to  get  along  without  the  engines  in  our 
House  of  Friendship! 

*  Repeated  so  as  to  give  the  sound  of  escaping  steam. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  27 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS   AND    PARENTS 

TO   USE   IN   GUIDING  CONVERSATION   CONCERNING    THE   SERVICE 

For  general  questions,  see  p.  ii. 

1.  Do  you  use  anything  or  wear  anything  or  eat  anything  that  is  not  carried 
to  you  on  the  railroads  or  on  boats?  What  would  happen  if  there  weren't  any 
railroads  or  boats  at  all?     Suppose  you  wanted  to  send  a  letter  to  a  friend  of 

yours  who  lives  in  ,  what  would  you  do?     How  would  we  know  what  is 

happening  in  other  parts  of  the  world?  And  if  there  were  no  telegraph  or  tele- 
phone? Yet  there  didn't  used  to  be  any  of  these  things.  People  knew  only  their 
next  door  neighbors  in  those  days.  Now  everybody  in  all  the  world  is  a  neighbor 
of  everyone  else. 

2.  Do  you  remember  a  story  Jesus  told  that  was  something  like  the  story  of 
the  friendly  engine?  (The  Good  Samaritan.)  What  do  you  suppose  the  man  said 
to   the  traveler  who  helped  him? 

3.  Could  people  be  friends  if  they  could  not  talk  or  communicate  in  any  way 
with  one  another?  What  efifect  on  friendship  does  increasing  power  of  communi- 
cation have?  We  have  often  spoken  of  "world  friendship."  On  what  does  this 
depend  for  realization?  Does  our  debt,  as  Christian  idealists,  to  railroads  and 
other  means  of  communication,  involve  us  in  obligations  to  those  who  operate  them? 
Do  you  suppose  the  railroad  men  know  how  much  they  are  doing  to  make  pos- 
sible a  real  House  of  Friendship? 


4 

A  Friend  to  Somebody 

Scripture:      Luke    10:25-37, 
Psalm:      146. 

Hymns:  "Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind;"  "There's  a  wideness  in  God's  mercy;" 
"We  thank  Thee,  O  our  Father." 

We  have  with  us  in  our  House  of  Friendship  a  strange  little  per- 
son by  the  name  of  Somebody.  Somebody  is  well  known  to  everyone 
of  us,  but  she  is  hard  to  find.  She  says  many  things  and  does  many 
things  for  us  every  day;  but  when  we  look  for  her,  she  cannot  be 
found. 

Who  is  this  Somebody?  We  knock  at  her  door  and  she  says,  "Come 
in,"  but  when  we  enter  she  is  not  there.  We  can  hear  her  singing, 
but  when  we  seek  her  she  is  gone.  She  sends  us  flowers  with  no  card 
in  them.  She  writes  us  nice  letters  but  forgets  to  sign  her  name.  She 
says  complimentary  things  about  us  to  our  friends  but  they  cannot 
remember  just  who  told  them.    She  is  always  willing  to  help  us. 

When  we  are  tired.  Somebody  says,  "Cheer  up!"  When  we  are 
lonesome.  Somebody  comes  and  plays  with  us.  When  we  are  sad, 
Somebody  makes  us  happy.  When  we  are  hungry,  Somebody  gives 
us  food.  When  our  clothes  and  shoes  wear  out,  Somebody  buys  us 
new  ones, 

A  boy  found  a  pair  of  new  glo\  es  in  his  pocket  one  morning  when 
he  was  getting  ready  to  come  to  church  school,  and  when  he  asked  his 
mother  who  put  them  there,  she  said:  "Oh,  Somebody," 

A  little  girl  found  a  new  doll  in  her  playhouse,  and  said,  "Mama, 
who  gave  me  this  pretty  doll?"  And  her  mama  said:  "Somebody  gave 
it  to  you," 

And  when  the  teacher  came  into  the  schoolroom  one  morning  she 
found  that  all  her  pencils  had  been  sharpened,  and  said  to  the  chil- 

28 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  29 

dren:  "Who  did  this  for  me?"  And  the  children  all  cried  together: 
"Somebody  did  it." 

And  when  some  of  the  starving  children  of  the  countries  in 
Europe  came  to  get  milk  and  bread,  which  tasted  better  to  them 
than  the  best  candy,  they  asked:  "Who  gave  us  the  food?"  And  the 
people  told  them:  "Somebody  over  in  America."  Now  can  you 
guess  who  Somebody  is? 

Isn't  Somebody  good  to  us?  I  wonder  if  we  are  always  as  good 
to  Somebody  as  Somebody  is  to  us.  Are  we  always  on  the  lookout 
for  the  chance  to  be  kind  to  Somebody,  or  Somebody's  mother,  or 
sister,  or  brother?  I  want  to  read  you  a  poem  called  "Somebody's 
Mother,"  about  a  boy  who  helped  her. 

"The  woman  was  old  and  ragged  and  gray, 
And  bent  with  the  chill  of  the  winter's  day, 
The  street  was  wet  with  recent  snow, 
And  the  woman's  feet  were  aged  and  slow. 

She  stood  at  the  crossing  and  waited  long. 
Alone,   uncared   for,   amid  the  throng 
Of  human  beings  who  passed  her  by, 
Nor  heeded  the  glance  of  her  anxious  eye. 

Down  the  street  with  laughter  and  shout, 
Glad  in  the  freedom  of  'school  let  out,' 
Came  the  boys  like  a  flock  of  sheep, 
Hailing  the   snow   piled   white   and  deep. 

Past  the  woman  so  old  and  gray. 

Hastened    the    children    on    their    way, 

Nor  offered  a  helping  hand  to  her, 

So  meek,  so  timid,  afraid  to  stir, 

Lest  the  carriage  wheels  or  horses'  feet 

Should   crowd  her   down    in   the   slippery   street. 

At  last  came  one  of  the  merry  troop. 
The  gayest  laddie  of  all  the  group; 
He  paused  beside  her  and  whispered  low, 
'I'll  help  you  across  if  you  wish  to  go.' 

Her  aged  hand  on  his  strong  young  arm 
She  placed,  and  so,  without  hurt  or  harm. 
He  guided  her  trembling  feet  along, 
Proud  that  his  own  were  firm  and  strong. 


30  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

Then  back  again  to  his  friends  he  went, 
His  young  heart  happy  and  well  content, 
'She's  Somebody's  Mother,  boys,  you  know, 
For  all  she's  aged  and  poor  and  slow.' 

And  'Somebody's  Mother'  bowed  low  her  head. 
In  her  home  that  night,  and  the  prayer  she  said, 
Was,  'God  be  kind  to  the  noble  boy, 
Who  is  Somebody's  son  and  pride  and  joy.' " 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO  USE  IN   FOLLOWING   UP   THE   SERVICE   OF   WORSHIP 

General  questions  for  each  service  will  be  found  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Did  you  ever  hear  that  poem  before  that  (the  leader  of  worship) 

read?     Would  you  like  to  hear  it  again?     (Read  it.) 

2.  The  other  day  I  sav^r  a  blind  man  at  a  crossing.  He  tapped  with  his  stick, 
to  ask  someone  to  help  him  across.  Two  boys  were  playing  at  the  corner,  right 
beside  the  blind  man,  who  could  not  see  the  cars  and  teams  coming  this  way  and 
that.  But  the  boys  paid  no  attention  to  the  blind  man.  They  just  went  on  with 
their  game  as  though  he  were  not  there  at  all.  I  expect  they  had  never  heard  of 
the  House  of  Friendship.  Do  you  suppose  if  they  had  heard  that  story  of  "Some- 
body," and  had  listened  to  that  old  story  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  and  had  sung 
those  songs  we  sang  this  morning,  that  they  would  have  just  kept  on  with  their 
game  and  never  thought  at  all  of  anybody  else? 


s 

Little  Gavroche  * 

Scripture:     Gen.  18:2-8. 
Psalm:    46. 

Hymns:  "O  love  of  God,  how  strong  and  true;"  "There's  not  a  bird  with 
lonely  nest;"  "Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past." 

Do  you  suppose  you  could  build  a  House  of  Friendship  inside  the 
statue  of  an  elephant?  I  know  of  a  boy  who  did.  And  he  lived  in 
the  city,  too.  Perhaps  that  is  why  he  could.  The  city  is  such  a  won- 
derful place.  Yet  for  some  people  it  is  very  hard  to  live  in  the  city. 
Perhaps,  just  because  it  is  hard,  people  have  to  have  a  House  of 
Friendship  to  live  in,  to  make  up  for  all  the  comfort  and  freedom 
that  other  folks  have. 

But  about  that  boy.  His  name  was  Gavroche.  He  lived  on  the 
streets  of  Paris,  for  he  had  no  father  nor  mother.  He  was  white  and 
thin,  but  he  was  strong  for  his  size,  and  he  knew  how  to  take  care  of 
himself.  One  night,  as  he  stood  looking  into  a  store  window,  he  saw 
two  boys  push  open  the  door  and  ask  the  man  inside  for  some  money. 
But  the  man  chased  them  out,  and  they  went  off  up  the  street,  shiver- 
ing and  crying. 

Running  up  to  them,  Gavroche  said,  "What's  the  matter?" 

"We  haven't  any  place  to  sleep,"  said  the  older  of  the  two  boys. 

"Is  that  all?"  cried  Gavroche.  "You  come  along  with  me."  And, 
taking  the  younger  boy's  hand,  he  led  the  way  along  the  street. 

Presently,  as  they  passed  a  bakery,  Gavroche  turned  to  the  boys 
and  said,  "By  the  way,  have  you  had  any  supper?" 

"Supper!"  said  the  older  boy.  "We  haven't  had  anything  to  eat 
since  morning." 

"Well,"  said  Gavroche,  "let's  see  what  we  can  do  here." 

So  he  searched  through  all  his  ragged  pockets  till  he  found  a 

*  Retold  from  Hugo,  Les  Miserablcs.     Reprinted  from  Everyland,  June,  1919. 

31 


32  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

piece  of  money,  and,  going  into  the  bakery  with  the  two  boys,  he  said 
to  the  baker,  "We  want  some  bread,  please." 

There  were  three  slices,  so  he  thrust  the  two  biggest  pieces  into 
the  hands  of  the  hungry  boys  and  ate  the  other  piece  himself. 

"Now,  come  along,"  he  said,  and  they  went  out  into  the  street. 
Pretty  soon  they  came  to  a  great  square,  and  there  in  the  middle  stood 
a  huge  plaster  elephant  as  big  as  a  house.  For  many  years  it  had 
been  there,  and  it  was  all  falling  to  pieces,  and  the  rain  and  the  sun 
had  turned  it  black;  so  it  seemed  like  some  mysterious  monster  loom- 
ing up  before  them  out  of  the  darkness. 

"You  needn't  be  afraid,"  said  Gavroche,  for  he  saw  that  the  two 
boys  did  not  want  to  go  near  the  elephant;  "you  just  follow  me." 

So  he  took  a  long  ladder  that  some  workmen  had  left  near  by  and 
somehow  raised  it  up  against  the  elephant's  immense  foreleg  and  told 
the  older  boy  to  climb  up.  But  he  was  afraid  to  go.  At  that  Gavroche 
scrambled  up  the  leg  of  the  elephant  and  climbed  into  a  small  hole, 
where  the  plaster  had  fallen  away. 

"Come  along!"  he  said;  "I'll  help  you."  So  the  older  boy  managed 
to  climb  up  the  steep  ladder  till  Gavroche  could  reach  him  and  pull 
him  into  the  great,  black  body  of  the  elephant. 

"Now,  you  stay  here,"  Gavroche  said,  and  then  slipped  down  to 
the  ground  to  help  the  younger  boy,  who  stood  there  cold  and  crying, 
between  the  elephant's  legs.  He  was  only  five  years  old,  so  Gavroche 
had  to  go  up  the  ladder  right  behind  him  and  help  him  climb  into  the 
hole. 

As  soon  as  they  were  all  inside,  he  kicked  over  the  ladder  and 
shouted,  "Now  we're  at  home!" — for  this  was  where  Gavroche  lived 
all  by  himself.  Covering  up  the  hole  they  had  crawled  through,  he 
lit  a  piece  of  string  that  had  been  dipped  in  fat,  so  that  they  could 
see  the  inside  of  the  elephant  by  the  smoky,  flickering  light.  The 
plaster  had  fallen  down  from  the  top  so  as  to  make  a  sort  of  even 
floor,  and  over  in  one  corner  was  a  straw  mat  with  a  blanket  on  it. 
This  was  his  bed. 

"We  must  go  to  bed  now,"  said  Gavroche,  who  knew  that  the 
string  candle  would  not  last  long. 

Then  the  boys  saw  that  the  bed  was  under  a  sort  of  screen  that  was 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  33 

supported  by  sticks.  The  edges  of  the  screen  were  kept  down  by 
stones.  Lifting  two  of  these,  Gavroche  showed  the  boys  how  to 
get  inside.  Then  he  crawled  in  after  them  and  fixed  the  stones  in 
place. 

''Now  go  to  sleep,"  he  said.  So  the  boys  curled  up  on  the  straw 
mat,  and  Gavroche  tucked  them  in  under  the  blanket.  Then  he  blew 
out  the  candle. 

No  sooner  was  it  all  dark  than  the  wire  screen  over  their  heads 
began  to  tremble  and  shake,  and  the  boys  heard  the  scratching  of 
many  feet  and  a  strange  squeaking  noise. 

"What's  that?"  whispered  the  little  boy. 

"Rats,"  said  Gavroche  in  a  low  voice. 

"What  are  rats?"  whispered  the  Httle  boy. 

"Mice,"  said  Gavroche.  "They  can't  get  in;  that's  what  the 
screen  is  for.    Here!     Take  hold  of  my  hand." 

And  so,  while  the  wind  blew  and  the  rain  poured  down,  the  three 
homeless  boys  slept  warm  and  dry  in  the  statue  of  an  elephant, — and 
because  it  was  full  of  friendly  feeling  and  kindness,  it  made  a  very 
good  House  of  Friendship  indeed. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO    BE   USED    IN    CLASS    AND    HOME 

General  questions  are  printed  on  p.  ii. 

1.  What  makes  our  House  of  Friendship  different  from  any  other  kind  of 
house?     Is  it  really  a  house?     What  is  it? 

How  do  you  suppose  God  must  have  felt  when  little  Gavroche  sheltered  those 
hungry  boys?     Do  you  remember  the  first  verse  of  that  hymn  we  sang? 

"There's  not  a  bird  with   lonely  nest, 
In  pathless  wood  or  mountain  crest 
Nor  meaner  thing,  which  does  not  share, 
O  God,  in  Thy  paternal  care." 

What  did  Jesus  say  about  the  birds  and  the  flowers  and  God's  care? 

2.  Do  you  suppose  we  could  make  some  rules  about  what  people  should  do  to 
have  a  House  of  Friendship  ?  There  was  "The  Friendly  Engine,"  and  "A  Friend  to 
Somebody,"  and  to-day  there  was  "Little  Gavroche,"  and  by  and  by  there  will  be 
other  stories  that  will  help  us  find  out  what  to  do  in  the  House  of  Friendship.    If 


34  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

we  could  make  the  rules,  then  perhaps  our  class  could  help  build  the  House  and  we 
could  each  help  at  home  and  at  school.  Let's  make  one  rule  each  Sunday.  What 
will  the  first  rule  be? 

3.     Have  you  read  Les  Miserablcs?     There  are   some  wonderful   stories  of 

friendship  in  it.     Possibly  there  are  some  we  might  suggest  to  (the  leader 

of  worship)   for  our  services. 


6 

A  Thanksgiving  Adventure 

Scripture:     Luke    17:11-18. 
Psalm:      145. 

Hymns:  "My  God,  I  thank  Thee;"  "Praise  to  God,  immortal  praise;"  "God  is 
love." 

"All  in  favor  say  'Yea.'  "  All  the  family  at  the  breakfast  table 
said  "Yea"  except  Dick,  who  sat  sullenly  with  his  head  down. 

"All  opposed  say  'Nay,'  "  said  his  father.  Dick  raised  his  head 
and  shouted  "Nay." 

The  family  was  voting  on  whether  or  not  they  should  have  the 
usual  Thanksgiving  dinner.  Mr.  Morgan  thought  that  since  so  much 
food  was  being  sent  to  Europe  to  feed  the  starving  people  there,  his 
family  should  help  avoid  the  shortage  by  not  having  the  usual  Thanks- 
giving feast.  So  he  explained  the  situation  and  put  it  to  a  vote.  All 
voted  in  favor  except  Dick.    Dick  objected  strenuously. 

"Father,"  said  Dick,  "what  is  Thanksgiving,  anyway,  without  the 
dinner?  It's  just  the  same  as  none  at  all.  What  has  a  boy  to  be 
thankful  for  except  the  turkey  and  cranberry  sauce  he  eats?" 

"Now,  Dick,"  said  his  father  kindly,  "you  have  many  things  to 
be  thankful  for  if  you  would  only  stop  and  think." 

"No,  I  haven't,  either,"  replied  Dick,  who  was  very  cross,  for  he 
knew  the  majority  ruled,  and  there  would  be  no  Thanksgiving  dinner. 

When  Thanksgiving  morning  came,  Dick  made  a  half-hearted  at- 
tempt to  think  of  things  to  be  thankful  for.  But  all  he  could  think 
of  was  the  dinner  which  his  mother  and  father  and  sister  had  voted  not 
to  have.  The  more  he  thought  about  it  the  angrier  he  became;  until 
finally  he  decided  that  he  wouldn't  stay  at  home  that  day.  Just  the 
week  before  he  had  been  up  at  his  grandfather's  farm  in  the  country. 
He  knew  they  would  have  a  fine  dinner  there.    He  would  go  there  just 

35 


36  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

for  the  day  and  come  back  again.  He  did  not  dare  to  ask  for  per- 
mission because  he  had  been  there  so  recently,  so  he  got  his  hat  and 
coat,  sHpped  quietly  out  of  the  house,  and  started  for  the  train. 

He  took  the  subway  for  the  railway  station,  but  somehow  he  got 
confused  and  boarded  the  wrong  train.  When  he  got  out  and  climbed 
up  to  the  street  again  he  didn't  know  where  he  was.  He  knew  he  was 
lost,  but  he  didn't  dare  ask  a  policeman  for  fear  he  would  be  taken 
back  home  again.  So  he  wandered  about  almost  all  morning  looking 
for  the  railroad  station.    After  a  while  Dick  began  to  get  very  hungry. 

Turning  into  a  dark  street  he  saw  some  boys  about  his  own  age 
playing  tag.  Although  they  looked  rather  rough,  Dick  finally  got 
up  courage  to  ask  one  of  them  where  he  could  find  a  place  to  eat. 
As  soon  as  the  boy  found  out  that  Dick  had  had  no  dinner  and  was 
hungry,  he  said,  "Come  on  home  with  me  and  I'll  give  you  some  of 
mine."  Dick  followed  the  boy,  who  was  dirty  as  could  be,  with  an 
old  coat  and  patched  trousers,  along  a  dark  alley  until  they  came  to  a 
rickety  flight  of  stairs.  Three  flights  up  they  climbed,  and  then 
Dick's  friend  led  him  to  a  room  in  the  rear  filled  with  dust  and  smoke 
and  bad  air. 

"What's  this  you've  got  with  you?"  snapped  a  voice  which  belonged 
to  Dick's  friend's  mother. 

"Oh,  this  is  a  boy  who  got  lost,"  said  Sam  (Sam  was  the  boy's 
name).  "I  asked  him  home  to  eat  with  us.  It's  Thanksgiving  to-day, 
and  everybody  ought  to  have  something  to  eat." 

"Don't  you  know  we  don't  have  enough  for  you  to  eat,  let  alone 
others?"  stormed  the  angry  woman.  Dick  thought  to  himself:  "My 
goodness,  I'm  glad  my  mother  doesn't  talk  that  way  to  me.  I  wish 
I  was  back  with  Mother  now." 

Stamp!  Stamp!  down  the  hall  outside.  The  father  came  in,  and 
all  the  children  were  very  quiet.  Everyone  seemed  afraid  of  what 
might  happen. 

"What's  this  boy  doing  here?"  roared  the  father,  a  big,  rough 
man  with  a  deep  voice. 

"Oh,  father,"  pleaded  Sam,  "please  let  him  stay.  He  is  lost  and 
very  hungry." 

"I  will  pay  you,"  said  Dick,  as  he  happened  to  think  of  his  rail- 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  37 

road  fare.  The  man  took  all  his  money  and  seemed  to  be  satisfied, 
so  Dick  sat  down  to  dinner  with  them.  It  was  a  very  simple  meal. 
Apparently  Sam's  father  hadn't  ever  heard  of  Thanksgiving. 

But  even  though  Dick  was  hungry,  he  couldn't  eat  much  after  all, 
for  the  food  wasn't  clean,  and  he  was  homesick.  He  thought  of  how 
kind  his  parents  were,  of  what  a  nice  home  he  had,  of  his  school  and 
his  beautiful  toys  and  books.  He  had  never  been  so  homesick  before 
in  all  his  life. 

After  dinner  the  father  said:  "There's  no  place  here  for  this  lad 
to  sleep;  I'm  going  to  take  him  to  the  police  station."  Dick  was  glad 
enough  to  go.  And  when  the  police  finally  found  out  where  he  lived 
and  got  him  home  again  it  was  just  in  time  for  six  o'clock  dinner. 
Dick  told  the  story  of  his  wanderings.  And  when  the  family  sat  down 
to  the  table  Dick  thought:  "My!  what  a  feast!"  But  it  was  only  the 
simple  dinner  that  the  family  had  planned. 

After  dinner  Dick  went  into  the  library  and  got  his  notebook  and 
his  pencil  and  wrote  his  diary.  And  at  the  end  he  made  a  list  of  all 
the  things  he  had  to  be  thankful  for.  It  covered  the  whole  page  and 
part  of  the  next  one.  Do  you  think  you  could  guess  what  went  into 
that  list  of  his? 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

FOR   FOLLOWING    UP    THE    SERVICE 

For  general  questions  to  be  used  in  connection  with  this  service,  see  p.  ii. 

1.  Hov^r  long  is  it  before  Thanksgiving?  What  is  Thanksgiving  for?  Do  you 
think  we  ought  to  do  anything  to  get  ready  for  Thanksgiving?     What? 

2.  How  do  you  suppose  your  mother  and  father  feel  when  they  see  you  hav- 
ing such  a  good  time  on  Thanksgiving?  Wouldn't  you  like  to  help  some  other 
children  to  have  a  happy  Thanksgiving?     How   could  we   do   it? 

3.  Is  there  any  difference  between  real  gratitude  and  pharisaic  complacency? 
What  light  do  these  words  of  Jesus  throw  on  this?    Luke  18:9-14;  Matt.  5:43-48. 


7 

A  Great  Feast 

Scripture:     (to  be  read  in  connection  with  the  story)    Mark  6:35-42. 
Psalm:     103. 

Hymns:  "For  the  beauty  of  the  earth;"  "My  God,  I  thank  Thee,  who  hast 
made;"  "We  thank  Thee,  O  our  Father." 

I  don't  suppose  we  can  ever  be  wholly  thankful  until  everybody  is 
happy;  until  everyone  in  the  world  has  enough  of  all  the  good  things 
that  some  have.  Surely  in  the  House  of  Friendship  everyone  should 
have  enough.  Strange  and  mysterious  things  happen  in  the  House 
of  Friendship,  but  none  is  stranger  than  this,  that  somehow  or  other 
it  seems  as  though  in  a  real  House  of  Friendship  there  is  enough  for 
everybody. 

Do  you  remember  the  story  of  the  old  woman  who  did  not  have 
much  to  eat?  When  Elijah  came  along  and  asked  for  something,  she 
didn't  want  to  give  him  any  at  first,  for  fear  she  and  her  son  might 
not  have  enough.  But  when  she  really  took  the  old  man  into  her 
house  of  friendship  and  shared  what  she  had  with  him,  she  found  to 
her  surprise  that  she  had  enough  and  to  spare. 

And  do  you  remember  the  time  when  Jesus  was  talking  to  a 
great  crowd  of  people  who  had  come  a  long  way  from  home  to  listen 
to  him?  By  and  by  they  got  tired  and  hungry,  and  it  didn't  seem  as 
though  there  was  much  of  anything  to  eat.  But  Jesus,  you  remember, 
showed  them  how  to  build  a  house  of  friendship,  and  when  they  did 
so  they  discovered  that  there  was  enough  for  everybody.  This  is  the 
way  Mark  tells  the  story.     (Read  at  this  point  Mark  6:35-42.) 

That  doesn't  seem  possible,  does  it?  And  yet  things  like  that  go 
on  in  the  House  of  Friendship  every  day.  Shall  I  tell  you  how?  Well, 
I  don't  think  I'll  tell  you  how,  but  Til  tell  you  a  story  that  some- 
body told  me  once,  and  the  story  will  tell  you  how. 

38 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  39 

Once  the  Play  Angel  came  into  a  nursery  where  four  children  sat 
on  the  floor  with  sad  and  troubled  faces. 

"What  is  the  matter,  children?"  asked  the  Play  Angel. 

"We  wanted  to  have  a  grand  feast!"  said  the  child  whose  nursery 
it  was. 

"Yes,  that  would  be  delightful!"  said  the  Play  Angel. 

"But  there  is  only  one  cooky!"  said  the  child  whose  nursery  it 
was. 

"And  it  is  a  very  small  cooky,"  said  the  child  who  was  a  cousin, 
and  therefore  felt  a  right  to  speak. 

"Not  big  enough  even  for  myself!"  said  the  child  whose  nursery 
it  was. 

The  other  children  said  nothing,  but  they  looked  at  the  little 
cooky  with  mournful  eyes,  and  their  mouths  went  up  in  the  middle 
and  down  at  the  sides. 

"Well,"  said  the  Play  Angel,  "suppose  we  have  the  feast  just  the 
same!  I  think  we  can  manage  it."  She  broke  the  cooky  into  four 
pieces  and  gave  one  piece  to  the  littlest  child. 

"See!"  she  said.  "This  is  roast  chicken.  It  is  just  as  brown  and 
crispy  as  it  can  be,  and  there  is  cranberry  sauce  on  one  side,  and  on 
the  other  a  little  mountain  of  mashed  potato;  it  must  be  a  volcano,  it 
smokes  so.    Do  you  see?" 

"Yes!"  said  the  littlest  one;  and  his  mouth  went  down  in  the  mid- 
dle and  up  in  the  corners. 

The  Play  Angel  gave  a  piece  to  the  next  child. 

"Here,"  she  said,  "is  a  little  pie!  Outside,  as  you  see,  it  is  brown 
and  crusty,  with  a  wreath  of  pastry  leaves  around  the  edge;  but  inside 
it  is  all  chicken  and  ham  and  jelly  and  hard-boiled  eggs.  Did  you 
ever  see  such  a  pie?" 

"Never  I  did!"  said  the  child. 

"Now,  here,"  said  the  angel  to  the  third  child,  "is  a  round  cake. 
Look  at  it!  The  frosting  is  half  an  inch  thick,  with  candied  rose  leaves 
and  angelica  laid  on  top;  and  inside  there  are  chopped-up  almonds 
and  raisins  and  great  slices  of  citron.  It  is  the  prettiest  cake  I  ever 
saw,  and  the  best." 

"So  it  is  I  did!"  said  the  third  child. 


40  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

Then  the  angel  gave  the  last  piece  of  cooky  to  the  child  whose 
nursery  it  was. 

"My  dear!"  she  said,  "just  look!  Here  is  an  ice  cream  rabbit. 
He  is  snow  white  outside,  with  eyes  of  red  barley  sugar;  see  his  ears, 
and  his  little  snubby  tail!  But  inside,  I  think  you  will  find  him 
pink. 

"Now,  when  I  clap  my  hands  and  count  one,  two,  three,  you  must 
eat  the  feast  all  up.    One,  two,  three!" 

So  the  children  ate  the  feast  all  up. 

"There!"  said  the  angel.    "Did  you  ever  see  such  a  grand  feast?" 

"No,  never  we  did!"  said  all  the  four  children  together. 

"But  you  didn't  have  any!"  said  the  child  whose  nursery  it  was. 

"Oh,  yes!"  said  the  angel.    "I  had  it  all!"  * 

PRAYER  t 

O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  rejoice  and  give  thanks  for  all 
Thy  wonderful  works.  Thou  dost  indeed  deal  with  us  not  as  we 
deserve,  but  according  to  Thy  great  love  for  us.  Thou  hast  abundantly 
blessed  the  labor  of  those  who  work  in  garden  and  field  and  orchard. 
The  golden  harvests  are  gathered  in.  Bountiful  provision  for  the 
winter's  need  awaits  us.    And  we  are  glad. 

As  we  have  prayed  for  our  daily  bread,  so  have  we  prayed  for 
the  coming  of  Thy  Kingdom,  that  all  Thy  children  may  have  more 
abundant  life.  Keep  us  from  selfishly  claiming  Thy  blessings  for  our- 
selves and  refusing  to  share  them  with  others.  We  thank  Thee  for 
the  blessedness  of  giving.  We  thank  Thee  that  we  are  able  to  give, 
for  it  is  indeed  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 

May  all  that  we  possess  of  ease  and  security  and  friendship  only 
make  us  the  more  eager  to  share  our  blessings  with  those  who  have 
made  us  happy,  and  with  those  who  have  none  of  the  good  things 
of  life  which  we  enjoy. 

Hasten  the  time,  O  God,  when  all  men  shall  be  as  brothers;  when 

*  Adapted  from  "The  Great  Feast,"  in  Tlu^  Golden  JJ'indozvs,  by  Laura  E. 
Richards.     Copyright,  1903,  by  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 

t  From  the  Manual  for  Training  in  JVorship.  pp.  44  and  37.  Copyright,  1915, 
by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  41 

all  occasions  for  war  and  suffering  shall  cease;  and  the  whole  world 
shall  grow  into  the  fellowship  of  an  eternal  peace. 

In  the  name  of  the  great  friend  and  elder  brother,  Jesus  Christ. 
Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   BE    USED   AFTER   THE    SERVICE   OF    WORSHIP 

Certain  important  questions  for  each  service  will  he  found  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Do  you  suppose  we  could  be  "play  angels"  and  make  a  great  feast  like 
that  for  somebody?  I  expect  those  pieces  of  bread  little  Gavroche  gave  to  the 
boys  seemed  like  a  great  feast. 

(Presumably  many  classes  and  homes  will  be  planning  a  Thanksgiving  dinner 
for  some  family.) 

Perhaps  we'll  have  to  get  the  same  Play  Angel  to  help  us,  instead  of  trying 
to  be  play  angels  ourselves.  We  might  really  play  this  story.  We  would  be  the 
"boy  whose  nursery  it  was."    Who  would  the  other  children  be? 

2.  There  is  something  like  magic  about  friendship.  Have  you  ever  noticed 
it?  Have  you  ever  seen  strange  things  happen  like  what  happened  in  the  story  told 
this  morning?  How  about  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch?  Can  we  make 
another  rule  for  the   House  of   Friendship  to-day? 

3.  If  the  House  of  Friendship  were  finished,  would  there  be  any  need  for  our 
sending  someone  a  Thanksgiving  dinner?  Why  not?  If  we  do  send  these  dinners, 
have  we  done  all  that  the  situation  requires  of  us  as  Christians? 


8 

Bob  Chase's  Vacation 

thanksgiving  in  the  house  of  friendship 

Scripture:     Matt.  25  :  14-30. 

Psalm:      103. 

Hymns:  "Praise  the  Lord,  ye  heavens  adore  him;"  "We  plow  the  fields 
and  scatter;"  ''For  the  beauty  of  the  earth;"  "We've  a  story  to  tell  to  the  nations." 

Appropriate  portions  of  the  President's  or  Governor's  Thanksgiving  Procla- 
mation. 

Bobby  Chase  lived  in  a  suburb  of  the  great  city.  Every  morning 
his  father  hurried  away  after  breakfast  to  catch  the  early  train  that 
took  him  to  business,  and  every  evening  he  came  home  just  in  time 
for  dinner.  Bobby  was  thirteen,  so  he  was  able  to  do  a  good  many 
things  at  home.  He  took  care  of  the  furnace  in  winter,  and  shoveled 
the  snow  from  the  walks,  and  in  the  summer  he  cut  the  grass  and 
helped  with  the  garden.  His  mother  had  no  maid,  so  he  helped  her 
about  the  house  a  good  deal  also. 

But  he  was  thirteen,  and  he  had  many  outside  things  to  do.  He 
belonged  to  two  clubs,  each  of  which  met  once  a  week.  He  was  on  a 
basketball  team  and  that  took  lots  of  practice.  Now  and  then  there 
was  a  party  to  go  to  and  of  course  he  had  to  go  to  the  movies  at  least 
once  a  week,  and  then  he  had  his  studying  to  do.  Naturally  he  was 
beginning  to  feel  as  though  he  had  no  time  for  errands  and  dishes. 

One  morning  Bobby  overslept.  Or  if  he  did  hear  his  mother  call 
him  he  didn't  get  up  right  away,  and  when  he  came  downstairs  his 
father  had  already  gone.  Bobby  had  hardly  time  to  get  something  to 
eat  before  starting  for  school,  and  so  he  couldn't  fix  the  furnace  nor 
build  the  kitchen  fire,  but  had  to  leave  all  that  for  his  mother  to  do. 
His  mother  remonstrated  with  him  about  it,  at  which  he  got  angry. 
"Now,  look  here,  mother,"  he  said,  "I've  been  taking  care  of  that 
furnace  for  two  years.    I  can't  do  everything  about  this  house  and  go 

42 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  43 

to  school  too."    And  he  went  out  and  slammed  the  door  behind  him. 

That  afternoon  at  the  club  meeting  Bobby  asked  the  other  boys 
if  they  had  to  do  a  lot  of  things  at  home,  and  it  appeared  that  they 
did  not.  Indeed,  he  was  almost  the  only  boy  who  had  to  help  about 
the  house.  So  that  night  after  dinner  Bobby  said  to  his  father,  *Ta, 
I'm  not  going  to  do  any  more  work  'round  here.  I'm  thirteen  and  I 
have  an  awful  lot  to  do  at  school.  I've  been  working  'round  this 
place  all  summer  cutting  grass  and  raking  leaves,  and  now  I'm  going  to 
take  a  vacation." 

Now,  his  father  was  a  very  wise  father,  and  so  instead  of  getting 
angry  at  Bobby,  he  said,  "Why,  that's  all  right.  I  think  you  do  need 
a  vacation.  You  can  pretend  that  you're  a  guest  here.  You  can  be 
'Mr.  Chase'  and  your  mother  and  I  will  entertain  you.  As  long  as 
your  vacation  lasts  you  needn't  do  a  thing," 

"That's  mighty  white  of  you,"  said  Bobby,  and  he  went  off  to  do 
some  studying. 

Sure  enough,  the  next  morning  his  mother  did  not  call  him.  But 
Bobby  heard  his  father  get  up  and  go  down  early  to  fix  the  furnace 
and  build  the  kitchen  fire.  When  Bobby  came  downstairs  his  father 
had  gone  to  work  and  again  Bobby  had  just  time  to  snatch  some  break- 
fast and  get  to  school. 

When  he  came  home  at  noon  he  didn't  go  down  to  take  care  of 
the  furnace  as  he  usually  did,  but  sat  down  to  read  the  Youth's 
Companion  instead.  Presently  he  heard  his  mother  go  downstairs  and 
rake  the  fire  and  put  on  some  coal.  Now,  she  was  not  very  well,  and 
he  knew  that  she  ought  not  to  have  to  do  such  heavy  work,  but  he 
said  to  himself,  "I'm  not  going  to  do  it.  I'm  on  my  vacation.  And, 
anyway,  if  she  does  some  of  this  work  maybe  she'll  appreciate  me 
more."    And  he  kept  on  with  his  paper. 

Pretty  soon  they  sat  down  to  lunch.  Bobby  usually  changed  the 
plates,  but  this  time  his  mother  waited  on  table,  for  Bobby  was  a  guest 
and  of  course  it  would  not  be  proper  for  a  guest  to  do  that.  "Anyway," 
thought  Bobby,  "I'm  on  my  vacation,  and  maybe  if  she  does  it  awhile 
she'll  appreciate  me  more."  Lunch  was  rather  a  formal  affair,  for  of 
course  Bobby's  mother  had  to  entertain  her  guest,  and  Bobby  was  glad 


44  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

when  it  was  over.  After  lunch,  instead  of  helping  with  the  dishes,  he 
went  into  the  other  room  and  read  some  more. 

Presently  he  heard  his  mother  putting  on  her  things.  "Where  are 
you  going?"  he  asked. 

"Oh,  I'm  just  going  down  town  to  buy  the  nuts  and  raisins  for 
Thanksgiving." 

Now,  Bobby  had  always  bought  the  nuts  and  raisins  for  Thanks- 
giving. It  was  his  special  privilege,  and  he  certainly  did  want  to  go. 
But  of  course  he  was  a  guest  and  it  was  not  customary  for  guests  to 
run  errands;  and  so  he  said  to  himself,  "Oh,  well,  it's  all  right  for 
her  to  do  it.  Maybe  if  she  runs  errands  a  few  times  she'll  appreciate 
me  more."    And  so  he  let  her  go. 

Of  course  Bobby  hadn't  swept  the  walks  and  the  steps  all  day, 
and  so  when  his  father  got  home  he  had  to  go  out,  tired  as  he  was,  and 
do  it  himself.  Bobby  watched  him  from  the  window.  He  felt  as 
though  he  ought  to  go  out  there  and  do  it,  but  he  held  himself  in  and 
said,  "No.  It's  all  right.  I'm  on  my  vacation.  And,  anyway,  if  he 
does  it  awhile  maybe  he'll  appreciate  me  more." 

When  dinner  was  ready  what  was  Bobby's  surprise  to  find  his 
mother  all  dressed  up  and  his  father  in  a  dress  suit.  You  see  Bobby 
was  a  guest.  And  so  his  father  and  mother  talked  learnedly  about 
politics  and  prices  and  literature  and  things  Bobby  didn't  understand. 
All  Bobby  could  do  was  to  try  to  look  intelligent  and  pretend  he  was 
a  guest.  After  dinner  they  all  went  into  the  parlor,  and,  as  luck  would 
have  it,  Bobby  sat  on  a  stiff,  uncomfortable  chair.  The  conversation 
touched  lightly  now  on  music,  and  art,  and  babies,  while  Bobby  got 
more  and  more  restless.  If  he  had  been  just  Bobby  Chase  he  could 
have  sat  in  the  living-room,  or  got  out  his  lead  soldiers,  or  gone  to  bed. 
But,  of  course,  since  he  was  Mr.  Chase,  and  a  guest,  he  just  had  to  sit 
still  and  pretend  to  be  interested. 

By  and  by  his  father  excused  himself  and  went  down  to  fix  the  fur- 
nace and  get  the  house  locked  up  for  the  night,  and  Bobby  took  ad- 
vantage of  his  absence  to  slip  away  and  go  to  bed.  But  before  he  got 
to  sleep  he  heard  his  mother  and  father  talking  and  laughing  as  they 
washed  the  dinner  dishes.  His  door  was  open  and  he  couldn't  help 
hearing  what  they  said.    They  were  talking  about  him. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  45 

"You  ought  to  have  seen  his  face  while  I  was  sweeping  the  side- 
walks," said  his  father.  "It  was  the  funniest  thing  I  ever  saw.  He 
couldn't  decide  whether  he  wanted  to  be  Bobby  or  Mr.  Chase." 

"It  was  just  the  same  when  I  went  down  town  to  do  an  errand," 
said  his  mother.  "He  couldn't  decide  whether  to  be  a  guest  or  just 
Bobby." 

"The  trouble  with  Bobby,"  said  his  father,  "is  that  he  hasn't  enough 
to  do.  When  I  was  a  boy,  I  lived  on  a  farm.  I  had  to  get  up  long 
before  daylight  every  morning  and  milk  three  cows,  and  then  after 
breakfast  I  had  to  walk  four  miles  to  school,  and  when  school  was 
over  I  had  to  walk  four  miles  home  again,  and  then  help  with  the 
chores  before  supper.  The  trouble  with  Bobby  is  that  he  hasn't 
enough  to  do." 

"Humph!"  said  Bobby,  and  went  to  sleep. 

But  he  didn't  sleep  very  well.  He  had  bad  dreams.  He  dreamed 
he  had  to  walk  miles  and  miles  to  school,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
he  never,  never  would  get  there.  The  farther  he  went,  the  farther 
away  the  school  would  be.  And  in  the  middle  of  the  night  he  had  to 
climb  out  of  bed  in  the  cold  and  go  out  into  the  great  barn  and  milk 
a  thousand  cows.  Long,  long  rows  of  cows,  as  far  as  he  could  see. 
And  his  legs  ached  with  walking  and  his  arms  ached  with  milking,  and 
he  was  completely  exhausted. 

Just  then  he  woke  up.  My,  what  a  relief  it  was  to  find  he  did  not 
have  to  milk  a  thousand  cows  nor  walk  miles  and  miles  to  school!  He 
was  just  Bobby  Chase,  and  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  fix  the  furnace. 
And  then  he  remembered  he  was  on  a  vacation.  "Vacation?"  he  said 
to  himself.  "Vacation?  Where  did  I  get  that  idea  anyway?"  And 
all  at  once  it  came  over  him  how  silly  he  had  been  and  how  he  had 
heard  his  folks  laughing  at  him. 

"Vacation?"  he  said  in  disgust.  "Why,  I  guess  my  mother  hasn't 
had  a  vacation  in  ten  years,  nor  my  father  either.  Look  here,  Bobby 
Chase,  you'd  better  get  busy  and  do  something,  and  show  your  folks 
how  much  you  really  do  think  of  them.  To-day's  Thanksgiving,  and 
a  mighty  good  day  to  begin." 

So  he  got  up  and  started  downstairs  to  fix  the  furnace.    On  the 


46  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

way  down  he  met  his  father  bound  on  the  same  errand.  "Why,  good 
morning,  Mr.  Chase,"  said  his  father.    "Anything  the  matter?" 

"Mr.  Chase,  nothing,"  said  Bobby.  "My  name's  Robert.  And 
say,  this  vacation  business  is  all  off.    I'm  working  to-day." 

PRAYER 

We  are  very  glad,  our  Father,  that  the  earth  yields  food  for  the 
children  of  men,  and  flowers  for  their  happiness.  Thou  dost  abun- 
dantly provide  for  the  needs  of  all  thy  children.  Thou  sendest  thy 
rain  and  thy  sun  to  bless  not  just  some  of  us,  but  all  of  us.  And  yet 
some  of  us,  some  of  us,  O  God,  have  been  so  greedy  and  have  taken  so 
much  more  than  our  share  that  others  of  us  do  not  have  enough  to 
eat,  nor  to  wear,  and  never  see  any  flowers  at  all. 

Forgive  us,  our  Father,  for  supposing,  because  we  have  plenty 
to  eat  and  a  warm  place  to  live,  that  Thou  dost  love  us  better  than 
others.  We  do  not  deserve  more  than  others.  Grant,  O  God, 
that  we  may  justify  our  privilege  by  our  service.  Every  gift  of  Thy 
bounty  we  would  share. 

"We  are  not  here  to  play,  to  dream,  to  drift, 
We  have  hard  work  to  do,  and  loads  to  lift." 

Strengthen  us,  therefore,  by  the  power  of  thine  own  great  spirit,  that 
we  may  not  falter  in  our  duty,  nor  give  way  to  our  own  selfish  whims 
and  moods. 

And  may  Thy  Kingdom  come,  O  God,  the  Kingdom  of  friend- 
ship and  joy  and  peace  for  all  mankind. 

We  ask  it  in  Jesus'  name.    Amen. 


9 

A  Bag  of  Sugar 

Scripture:     Matt.  25  :  34-40. 
Psalm:     95 :  i-7a. 

Hymns:  "My  God,  I  thank  Thee;"  "O  beautiful  for  spacious  skies;"  "It  came 
upon  the   midnight   clear." 

Thanksgiving  is  over.  What  happy  associations  gather  around 
that  word.  It  has  been  a  happy  day  ever  since  the  first  Thanksgiving 
so  long  ago  when  the  Indians  came  and  celebrated  the  gathering  in 
of  the  first  harvest  with  the  early  settlers.  Of  course  the  Thanksgiv- 
ing dinner  is  the  best  part  of  it,  with  the  turkey  and  the  cranberry 
sauce  and  the  pumpkin  pie.  But,  do  you  know  I  believe  some  of 
you  have  been  discovering  lately  that  it  is  just  about  as  much  fun  to 
get  a  Thanksgiving  dinner  for  someone  else  as  it  is  to  have  one  your- 
self. And  even  if  you  don't  think  it  is  just  as  much  fun,  you  know 
very  well  that  you  ought  to  do  it.  You  know  very  well  that  it  is  not 
fair  that  anyone  should  go  hungry. 

Do  you  remember  what  our  hymn  that  we  have  just  sung  calls 
this  going  shares  with  others?    The  hymn  says, 

"And    crown    thy   good    with   brotherhood, 
From  sea  to  shining  sea." 

When  some  of  you  planned  that  Thanksgiving  dinner  for  some  friends 
of  yours  and  paid  for  it  out  of  your  own  money,  you  crowned  your 
good  with  brotherhood.  When  you  went  without  sodas  and  candy  and 
sent  your  money  to  feed  the  starving  Armenian  children,  you  crowned 
your  good  with  brotherhood,  When  some  of  you  got  up  a  play  and 
used  the  proceeds  to  adopt  a  French  orphan,  you  were  crowning  your 
good  with  brotherhood. 

The  other  day  I  read  a  story  about  some  girls  who  did  just  this 
thing.    Their  names  were  Mary  and  Alice  and  Helen.    It  was  during 

47 


48  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

the  war,  and  they  didn't  have  any  sugar.  They  couldn't  make  any 
candy,  and  their  mothers  and  fathers  couldn't  have  sugar  in  their 
coffee,  and  none  of  them  had  sugar  for  cakes  or  cookies  or  pies  or 
any  of  the  sweet  things  we  all  like  so  much.  And  so  they  had  come  to 
the  store  to  see  whether  they  could  get  some.  The  store  man  said 
they  could  have  two  pounds  apiece.  That  would  not  go  a  great  way 
in  a  big  family,  and  they  couldn't  have  any  more  for  a  long  time. 
So  it  was  very  precious. 

Just  as  they  were  coming  out  of  the  store,  something  dreadful 
happened.  Alice  stumbled,  and  her  bag  of  sugar  fell  to  the  ground  and 
burst  all  open,  and  the  sugar  was  spilled  in  the  muddy  gutter.  And 
she  couldn't  have  any  more.  What  do  you  suppose  Mary  did?  Do 
you  think  she  said,  "Oh,  you  careless  thing!  What  made  you  do 
that?"  No,  she  didn't  say  that.  Or  do  you  think  she  said,  ''Oh,  Alice, 
I'm  terribly  sorry  you  lost  your  sugar."  No,  she  didn't  even  say  that. 
She  went  back  into  the  store  and  got  another  bag,  and  then  she  put 
one-third  of  her  sugar  into  it.  Helen  saw  what  she  was  doing  and  be- 
gan edging  toward  home.  She  wasn't  going  to  give  away  any  of  her 
sugar.  Not  she.  But  Mary  looked  at  her,  and  held  open  the  bag 
that  had  a  third  of  her  own  sugar  in  it;  and  Helen  stopped  edging 
away,  and  just  looked  glum.  "Come  on,  Helen,"  said  Mary.  And  so 
finally  Helen  came  up  and  put  one-third  of  her  sugar  in  the  bag,  and 
they  gave  the  bag  to  poor  Alice.  And  so  they  all  had  the  same 
amount  of  sugar,  and  they  were  all  happy,  for  Alice  had  her  sugar, 
which  she  had  lost,  and  Helen  had  her  self-respect,  which  she  had 
almost  lost. 

I  would  like  to  have  been  Alice,  and  to  have  had  friends  like 
that,  who  were  willing  to  do  the  square  thing  by  me  when  I  was  in 
trouble.  I'd  like  to  have  been  Helen,  too,  and  to  have  overcome  my- 
self the  way  she  did,  and  have  kept  my  selfishness  from  getting  in  my 
way  when  I  really  wanted  to  do  the  right  thing.  But  I  would  like 
best  of  all  to  have  been  Mary,  and  to  hjive — but  I  don't  need  to  tell 
you  why  I  would  like  to  have  been  Mary,  as  you  know  why  already. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  49 

PRAYER 

Some  of  us  are  only  five  years  old,  our  Father.  Some  of  us  have 
only  just  begun  to  come  to  this  place  Sunday  by  Sunday.  Some  of  us 
are  much  older,  and  have  been  coming  here  for  years.  We  are  all 
here  together  now  in  this  place  of  worship.  And  we  are  glad  that  it 
doesn't  make  any  difference  how  old  or  how  young  we  are,  but  that 
Thou  art  listening  to  us  all  and  speaking  to  us  all. 

Each  one  of  us  out  of  his  own  heart  speaks  to  Thee  to-day  of  some- 
thing he  alone  is  especially  grateful  for — perhaps  for  being  able  to 
gain  a  good  mark  at  school,  or  to  go  to  a  party.  But  we  are  glad 
most  of  all  for  what  we  can  have  all  together — for  our  Thanksgiving 
holiday,  for  this  school,  for  homes  and  friends,  for  all  the  good  things 
which  everybody  ought  to  have,  and  which  it  is  not  fair  for  us  to  have 
all  to  ourselves.  And  so  we  are  grateful,  our  Father,  for  everything 
that  brings  happiness  and  opportunity  and  health  to  all  Thy  children. 

Thou  hast  permitted  us  to  take  part  in  this  work  of  bringing 
the  good  things  of  life  to  those  whom  Thou  dost  love,  and  who  have 
a  right  to  these  things — our  friends  here  for  whose  Thanksgiving  din- 
ner we  were  responsible,  our  little  friends  in  Syria  and  Armenia 
to  whom  we  are  sending  the  money  by  which  they  can  get  something 
to  eat  and  to  wear.  We  are  not  proud  of  what  we  have  done,  our 
Father,  for  it  has  been  very  little  in  proportion  to  the  splendid  things 
other  people  have  done  for  us.  But  we  want  to  do  more,  for  we  feel 
that  it  is  only  fair  that  we  should  help  make  good  things  go  around, 
and  we  are  glad  for  what  everyone  is  doing  to  build  the  House  of 
Friendship  in  the  City  of  God. 

Teach  us,  therefore,  to  follow  the  Master,  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  the 
great  helper  and  champion  of  men.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO    BE    USED    IN    FURTHERING    THE   EFFECTS    OF   THE    WORSHIP 

General  questions  are  on  p.  ii. 

I.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  happiness  in  the  world,  isn't  there?  Enough  to 
go  all  the  way  around,   do  you  think?     What  makes   unhappiness   for   so   many 


50  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

people?     What  do  you  suppose  the  Father  in  Heaven  thinks  about  it?     What  do 
you  suppose  He  wants  us  to  do  about  it? 

2.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  make  another  rule  to-day  for  the  House  of  Friend- 
ship. You  know  all  cities  have  charters  and  also  ordinances  or  laws  which  the 
people  make  for  the  guidance  of  their  conduct.  The  rules  we  are  making  now 
might  be  "Section  I  of  The  Ordinances  of  the  City  of  God."  Has  the  City  of 
God  a  charter?     Where  would  we  look  for  it? 

3.  Have  you  found  any  stories  in  Lcs  Miserables  or  elsewhere  that  

(the  leader  of  worship)  might  use  for  these  services  on  the  House  of  Friendship? 
How  would  it  do  to  write  one? 


10 

The  House  of  God 

Scripture:     Acts   17:16-28. 
Psalm:     23. 

Hymns:  "The  King  of  Love  my  shepherd  is;"  '"Wise  men  from  the  East 
come;"  "While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks;"  "O  little  town  of  Bethlehem." 

The  House  of  Friendship  that  we  are  building  is  not  like  the  houses 
that  we  live  in.  It  has  neither  doors  nor  windows,  nor  floors,  nor  walls, 
nor  ceilings.  It  is  built  without  all  these  things  because  our  friends 
and  the  things  they  do  cannot  be  shut  up  in  walls. 

There  was  once  a  man  who  thought  that  God  lived  in  a  house  just 
like  the  ones  we  live  in.  This  man's  name  was  Solomon,  and  he  was 
the  son  of  King  David.  When  David  died  Solomon  became  King  of 
Israel,  The  people  of  Israel  at  that  time  had  no  churches  such  as  we 
have  to  worship  in,  so  they  went  up  on  a  mountain  and  put  up  a  big 
tent  and  worshiped  there.  David  wanted  to  build  a  house  for  God, 
but  he  was  told  to  wait  and  let  Solomon  build  it.  But  even  before 
David  had  died  the  people  had  brought  enough  iron,  brass,  precious 
stones  and  other  things  to  put  into  the  new  temple.  Everyone  wanted 
to  help  build  this  house  for  God  to  live  in. 

So  when  David  died,  the  young  King  Solomon  began  the  work 
on  the  house  of  God.  The  Bible  says  that  seventy-three  thousand 
men  went  to  work  carrying  materials  to  Jerusalem,  because  in  those 
days  they  had  no  railroads  to  haul  things.  Then  eighty  thousand  more 
men  went  into  the  mountains  to  cut  stone  for  the  walls  of  the  house. 
And  to  get  wood  for  the  house  they  had  to  send  to  the  mountains  of 
Lebanon,  many  miles  away,  for  there  were  not  many  big  trees  in 
Palestine.  Solomon  also  asked  the  King  of  Tyre  to  have  the  trees 
carved  into  beautiful  shapes,  and  to  send  men  to  him  who  knew  how  to 
work  in  brass  and  gold  and  silver  to  make  ornaments  for  the  house. 
All  this  the  King  of  Tyre  did.    He  sent  the  skilled  workers,  and  ordered 

51 


52  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

thousands  of  men  into  the  mountains  to  hew  logs  and  drag  them  down 
to  the  sea  to  be  floated  to  Jerusalem. 

How  hard  the  people  worked  to  finish  the  house  of  God!  Month 
by  month  the  building  grew  until  at  last  it  was  finished.  How  beau- 
tiful it  was!  It  had  big  pillars  in  front  and  wide  porches  all  the  way 
around,  making  the  outside  more  wonderful  than  any  building  had 
ever  been  before.  But  the  inside  was  even  more  splendid.  Every- 
where there  were  fine  gold  and  silver  and  thousands  of  precious  stones. 
The  tables  were  gold,  the  vases  were  gold,  the  candlesticks  were 
gold.  There  were  all  kinds  of  pots  and  vessels,  bowls  and  spoons, 
some  of  gold  and  some  of  burnished  brass. 

After  the  house  was  finished  Solomon  called  all  the  people  together. 
They  sang  psalms  and  praised  God  and  dedicated  this  dazzling  new 
temple  to  Him.  But  after  it  was  all  over,  Solomon  looked  at  the 
wonderful  building  and  said: 

"Behold,  if  the  heavens  and  the  earth  cannot  contain  Thee,  O 
Lord,  how  much  less  can  this  house  which  I  have  built." 

So,  although  many  of  the  Jews  still  thought  that  God  could  be 
shut  up  in  a  house,  Solomon  knew  better.  In  later  years  the  Greeks 
also  believed,  some  of  them,  that  their  gods  lived  in  houses.  But 
when  the  Apostle  Paul  preached  to  them  in  Athens,  he  told  them  that 
God  dwells  not  in  temples  made  by  hands.  And  Jesus  told  the  woman 
at  the  well  of  Sychar  that  "God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him 
must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

So  the  House  of  God  is  not  a  house  of  windows,  doors,  ceilings, 
nor  walls.  It  is  a  House  of  Friendship,  which  we  build  by  doing  kind 
deeds  and  loving  others. 

PRAYER 

O  God,  our  Father,  we  thank  Thee  that  love  is  everywhere.  We 
thank  Thee  that  our  friends  are  always  with  us,  and  that  where  they 
are  and  where  love  is,  Thou  art.  We  thank  Thee  that  we  have 
churches  and  houses  in  which  we  can  worship  Thee,  but  we  thank 
Thee,  too,  that  Thou  canst  be  found  outside  as  well  as  inside  these 
houses.  We  are  glad  that  Thou  dost  speak  to  us  in  so  many  ways. 
We  see  Thee  in  the  sunshine  and  the  flowers  and  the  lives  of  our 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  53 

friends.  Help  us,  O  Father,  to  learn  to  love  Thee  more  and  find  in 
Thee  the  great  Companion.  We  ask  it  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  the 
friend  of  all  mankind.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO    BE    USED   AS    A    BASIS    FOR    DISCUSSING    THE    SERVICE 

It  is  best  to  begin  with  the  general  questions  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Thanksgiving  is  behind  us.  What  is  just  ahead  of  us?  Did  any  of  our 
songs  remind  you  of  it?  Thanksgiving  is  a  friendly  time,  isn't  it?  Do  you  think 
Christmas  is,  too?     What  do  we  do  at  Christmas  time? 

2.  Do  you  remember  the  Call  to  Worship  we  are  using  now  in  our  service? 
We  had  another  talk  sometime  ago  about  the  House  of  God.  It  was  when  we  first 
began  our  House  of  Friendship.  Perhaps  we  thought  at  first  that  a  house  of  the 
spirit  was  not  something  real.     What  do  you  think  about  it  now? 

3.  Do  you  suppose  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  was  ever  used  in  the  temple  wor- 
ship? What  do  you  think  the  author  meant  by  "the  house  of  God"?  What  do 
you  suppose  the  worship  at  the  great  festivals  was  like?  Perhaps  some  Jewish 
schoolmates  will  describe  what  their  church  worship  is  like  to-day,  or  we  might 
visit  a  synagogue  sometime.  The  Hebrew  prayer  book  has  many  beautiful  prayers 
in  it.  Would  you  like  to  see  them?  What  kind  of  worship  do  you  think  God 
really  wants? 


II 

Christmas  in  the  House  of  Friendship 
a  boy  who  helped  a  prince 

(A   fanciful  story,  suitable  for  some   portion  of   the   Christmas   season) 

There  was  once  a  king  who  ruled  over  a  very  large  kingdom — 
so  large,  in  fact,  that  he  could  not  look  after  everything  himself.  So 
he  got  his  son,  the  Prince,  to  help  him,  and  he  gave  him  one  of  the 
most  important  of  all  his  former  duties  to  see  to,  namely,  that  of 
making  the  people  good. 

Now,  of  course,  the  Prince  could  not  make  all  the  people  good  at 
once,  so  he  decided  he  would  try  to  make  one  person  good  every  day. 
This  meant  that  in  a  year  he  would  be  able  to  change  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  bad  persons  into  good  persons.  It  was  a  very  fine  plan 
indeed. 

But  the  Prince  could  not  do  all  this  by  himself,  so  he  got  a  big 
policeman  to  help  him.  Each  morning  the  policeman  set  out  on  his 
rounds,  swinging  his  club  and  keeping  a  strict  watch  for  wicked 
people,  and  each  day  at  twelve  o'clock  the  Prince  seated  himself  on 
his  throne  and  waited  to  see  whom  the  policeman  would  bring  to  him. 
On  the  very  first  day,  just  at  twelve  o'clock,  the  policeman  came  sol- 
emnly in,  leading  a  very  angry  man,  who  the  Prince  saw  at  once 
was  a  farmer.  The  policeman  brought  the  farmer  right  up  to  the 
throne  and  made  a  low  bow. 

"What  has  this  man  done?"  asked  the  Prince. 

"May  it  please  Your  Highness,"  replied  the  policeman,  "he  is  a  very 
bad  farmer.  Last  night  when  a  neighbor's  cow  broke  through  a  fence 
into  his  corn-field  and  ate  only  a  very  little  of  the  corn,  he  grew  ter- 
ribly angry  and  beat  the  poor  cow  until  it  was  nearly  dead.    And  I 

54 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  55 

have  heard  that  he  always  behaves  like  that ;  he  never  forgives  anyone 
who  hurts  him  in  the  least  manner,  even  if  it  occurs  accidentally." 

The  Prince  saw  that  this  man  with  the  cruel  and  unforgiving  heart 
would  be  very  hard  indeed  to  cure.  He  hardly  knew  what  to  do. 
After  thinking  a  long  while  and  not  arriving  at  any  solution,  he  de- 
cided to  go  for  a  walk  with  the  farmer  that  afternoon,  because  he 
could  always  think  better  when  he  was  walking. 

They  walked  and  walked  and  walked  and  all  the  while  the  Prince 
kept  wondering  how  he  could  make  this  farmer  better.  He  wanted  to 
teach  him  somehow  to  forgive  people — yet  he  could  not  think  of  any 
plan.  So  he  walked  faster  and  then  still  faster,  but  without  the  least 
success,  until  at  last  they  came  to  a  street  where  a  little  boy  and  girl 
were  playing  with  a  ball.  It  was  a  beautiful  ball,  painted  all  over  with 
red  and  green  and  yellow  colors,  and  naturally  the  ragged  little  boy 
to  whom  it  belonged  was  very  proud  of  it.  Now,  just  as  the  Prince 
and  the  farmer  came  along  an  awful  thing  happened, — the  little 
girl  made  a  bad  throw  and  the  beautiful  ball  rolled  down  the  gutter, 
and  fell  at  last  between  the  iron  gratings  right  into  the  sewer!  When 
the  farmer  saw  this  happen  he  became  angry  at  the  careless  girl,  and  he 
was  sure  the  ragged  boy  would  become  angry  too.  But  the  little  boy 
astonished  him,  for  he  didn't  grow  angry  a  bit;  instead  he  brushed  a 
tear  from  his  eye,  and  though  it  hurt  his  feelings  to  lose  the  ball,  he 
walked  right  over  to  the  little  girl,  and  said:  "Don't  you  mind,  I  don't 
care  if  the  ball  is  lost." 

Something  wonderful  happened  in  the  farmer's  heart  when  he 
saw  that.  He  grew  miserable  and  ashamed  when  he  remembered  how 
he  had  beaten  the  cow, — so  miserable  and  ashamed,  in  fact,  that  his 
heart  was  changed  from  a  hard  and  cruel  one  to  a  very  tender  and 
forgiving  one.  Never  again  was  the  farmer  angry  and  unforgiving 
when  anyone  did  him  an  injury,  but  as  long  as  he  lived  everyone 
liked  him  because  he  was  kind  and  overlooked  trifling  troubles. 

The  next  day  at  twelve  o'clock  sharp  the  Prince  again  seated  him- 
self on  his  throne  and  called  for  his  policeman.  Presently  he  entered, 
this  time  leading  a  tall  and  gruff-looking  man,  who  wore  a  high  silk 
hat. 

"What  has  this  man  done?"  asked  the  Prince. 


56  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

"Please,  sir,  he  is  always  harsh  and  thoughtless,  and  has  never  been 
known  to  do  a  kind  deed  for  anybody,"  replied  the  policeman. 

Again  the  Prince  was  obliged  to  take  the  bad  man  for  a  walk,  and 
again,  though  he  walked  ever  so  fast,  he  could  think  of  no  way  to 
change  him.  Just  as  the  Prince  was  about  to  give  up  in  despair,  along 
came  a  butcher's  cart  with  a  ragged  little  boy  riding  merrily  behind. 
Presently  the  cart  stopped,  the  boy  jumped  off,  and  the  Prince  and  the 
hard-hearted  man  saw  him  pick  up  a  little  bluebird  that  was  fluttering 
on  the  grass.  And  when  they  came  up  they  noticed  that  the  little  bird 
had  hurt  its  wing  and  was  no  longer  able  to  fly.  All  that  was  needed 
was  a  little  bit  of  care  while  the  wing  grew  strong  again,  so  the  little 
boy  tenderly  carried  it  home,  where  he  could  nurse  it  better, 

"How  foolish  for  anyone  to  care  about  a  little  bird;  better  to  have 
killed  it  then  and  there,"  said  the  hard-hearted  man. 

But  as  they  walked  home,  the  more  he  thought  of  that  boy's 
kindness  the  more  he  liked  it  in  spite  of  himself,  and  by  the  time  he 
had  reached  the  palace,  he  concluded  it  was  the  finest  thing  he  had 
ever  seen.  And  never  again  was  he  hard  and  unfriendly  and  thought- 
less, thinking  only  of  himself,  but  as  long  as  he  lived  everyone  liked 
him  because  he  was  always  ready  to  lend  a  hand  and  do  a  good  turn. 

Now,  on  the  third  day  at  the  very  same  hour,  when  the  palace 
clock  was  striking  twelve,  the  Prince  sat  on  his  throne  again,  and  be- 
fore him  stood  the  blue-coated  policeman  and  a  little  old  man  with  a 
wrinkled  face  and  a  long,  white  beard. 

"What  has  this  man  been  doing?"  asked  the  Prince. 

"May  it  please  Your  Highness,"  answered  the  policeman,  "he's  a 
miser.  He  keeps  for  himself  all  he  can  lay  his  hands  on,  and  he  would 
rather  die  than  to  give  away  so  much  as  a  penny." 

Now,  merely  by  looking  at  the  man's  face  the  Prince  could  tell 
that  he  was  the  meanest  man  in  all  the  kingdom,  and  that  it  would 
be  harder  to  make  him  good  than  anyone  the  policeman  had  ever 
brought  before.    But  he  made  up  his  mind  he  would  try  at  least. 

So  he  and  the  wizened  old  miser  started  out  for  their  afternoon 
walk,  with  the  Prince  wondering  how  he  could  ever  change  such  a 
selfish  old  person,  and  the  miser  making  up  his  mind  stronger  than 
ever  that  he  would  not  be  changed.     If  other  men  had  made  the 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  57 

Prince  puzzled,  this  man  drove  him  to  despair.  He  could  think  of 
nothing  that  might  make  him  any  better.  Finally  the  Prince  was  in 
such  straits  that  he  was  actually  running,  and  the  miser  was  having  a 
hard  time  to  keep  up,  grumbling  all  the  while.  At  last  the  Prince 
became  so  exhausted  he  had  to  stop  and  rest. 

Just  as  they  were  getting  their  breath  nicely,  along  came  a  little 
ragged  boy,  looking  very  doleful  indeed. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  Prince,  for  he  liked  this  boy 
and  hated  to  see  him  in  trouble.  At  first  the  boy  would  not  tell,  but 
the  Prince  kept  asking,  and  at  last  he  confessed — he  was  awfully  hun- 
gry and  hadn't  eaten  anything  since  breakfast,  because  his  father 
had  earned  no  money  that  day.  The  Prince  hoped  that  the  miser 
would  be  touched  by  the  boy's  story,  but  he  noticed  that  the  old 
man  was  not  listening.  So  the  Prince  gave  the  boy  half  a  shilling 
and  away  he  ran  to  buy  himself  an  apple  pie,  while  the  Prince  turned 
sorrowfully  toward  the  palace.  He  had  failed  to  make  the  old  miser 
any  better. 

But  when  they  turned  the  next  corner  what  do  you  suppose  they 
saw?  Why,  sitting  there  on  the  curbstone  was  the  ragged  little  boy, 
sharing  his  apple  pie  with  a  hungry  dog.  First  the  boy  would  take  a 
bite  and  then  the  dog,  and  you  couldn't  have  told  which  was  the 
hungrier ! 

The  Prince  and  the  miser  looked  on  until  the  pie  was  all  eaten 
and  the  boy  and  the  dog  had  run  off  down  the  street  to  play.  Then, 
as  they  turned  to  walk  home,  the  Prince  saw  a  tear  in  the  miser's 
eye,  and  by  the  look  on  his  wrinkled  old  face  he  could  tell  that  his 
selfish  heart  had  at  last  become  kind.  Never  again  did  he  grab  every- 
thing for  himself,  but  as  long  as  he  lived  everyone  liked  him,  because 
he  was  always  ready  to  go  shares  and  play  fair. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  Prince  was  out  walking  by  himself  the 
next  day,  and  he  came  upon  the  same  little  ragged  boy  sitting  on  a 
doorstep  and  looking  very  sad  indeed. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter  now?"  asked  the  Prince. 

"Well,"  said  the  boy,  "you  see,  I'm  no  good.  I'm  just  a  boy  with 
ragged  clothes  and  I  can't  do  anything  the  way  other  children  can." 

"On  the  contrary,"  said  the  Prince,  "you're  the  most  valuable  man 


58  THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP 

in  my  kingdom."  And  then  the  Prince  told  him  how  the  angry  farm- 
er had  been  changed  when  he  saw  the  little  boy  forgive  the  girl 
who  lost  his  ball;  how  the  hard-hearted  old  gentleman  had  been 
changed  when  he  saw  the  boy  pick  up  the  bluebird  and  take  it  ten- 
derly home;  and  how  the  mean,  stingy  old  miser  had  been  changed 
when  he  saw  the  little  boy  share  his  pie  with  the  dog. 

"And  they  were  all  made  better,"  said  the  Prince,  "just  because 
they  saw  a  little  ragged  boy  play  fair.  There  are  many  men  who 
can  make  my  kingdom  worse,  but  there  is  only  one  little  ragged  boy 
who  can  make  it  better,  and  that  little  ragged  boy  is  you." 


THE  HOUSE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  59 


Closing  the  Period  on  the  House  of  Friendship 

No  talk  or  service  is  suggested  for  this  as  this  occasion  offers  a 
fine  opportunity  to  make  use  of  material  gathered  by  the  children. 
They  might  at  this  time  report  what  they  have  done  in  their  classes 
to  help  build  the  first  house  in  the  City  of  God.  Such  rules  as  some 
may  have  developed  for  conduct  in  the  House  of  Friendship  might  be 
read  by  the  children  and  explained.  Some  story  selected  or  prepared 
by  some  class  might  be  told  by  a  pupil.  In  other  words,  let  this  be 
as  far  as  possible  the  children's  own  work. 


PART  II 
THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE* 

FROM   CHRISTMAS   TO   JUST    BEFORE  EASTER 

Call  to  Worship:  "God  hath  showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good,  and  what 
doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to 
walk  humbly   with  thy  God  ?" 

ORDERS  OF  SERVICE 

FROM    WHICH    ONE    OR    MORE    MAY    BE    SELECTED    FOR    THIS    PFRIOD 


Without  Choir 


With   Choir 


1.  Instrumental  Prelude 

2.  Opening    Stanza    sung   by   school 

(a  doxology  or  one  verse  of  a 
hymn  such  as  "Holy,  holy, 
holy") 

3.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

4.  Scripture  Lesson 

5.  Offering   (with  prayer  by  leader 

or   school) 

6.  Hymn 

7.  Story  or  Talk 

8.  Prayer 

9.  Hymn 

10.  Closing    Prayer    by   leader    or    a 

Unison   Prayer 

11.  Benediction 


1.  Instrumental      Prelude,      closing 

with  music  of  first  hymn 

2.  Call   to   Worship 

3.  Hymn 

4.  Choir  Sentence 

5.  The  Lord's  Prayer,  Choir  Amen. 

6.  Story  or  Talk 

7.  Prayer 

8.  Choir  Response 

9.  Hymn  or 

Musical  Benediction 


1.  Opening  Sentence 

2.  A  Unison  Prayer 

3.  A  Doxology 

4.  Scripture  Lesson 

5.  Story  or  Talk 

6.  Prayer 

7.  The   Lord's   Prayer 

8.  Hymn 

9.  Benediction 

*  Corresponding  to  the  period 
Faith  as  described  in  the  Ma)iual 


1.  Processional   Hymn 

2.  Psalm 

3.  The  Lord's   Prayer,  Choir  Amen 

4.  Choir  Sentence 

5.  Unison  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 

6.  Hymn 

7.  Story  or  Talk 

8.  Prayer,  School  Amen 

9.  School  Benediction 
10.  Recessional  Hymn 

of   Reverence  and  a  portion  of  the  period  of 
for  Training  in    Worship. 
61 


12 

The  House  of  Justice 

Scripture:     Isaiah  52:1a,   7,    10;   60:1-3,    18,    19. 
Psalm:     23. 

Hymus:  "God  is  my  strong  salvation;"  "Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand;" 
'"Thy  kingdom  come,  O  Lord." 

No  city  ever  was  finished.  As  we  walk  up  and  down  the  streets 
of  our  own  town  we  see  new  houses  going  up  here  and  there  where 
there  never  were  any  before.  And  sometimes  old  houses  that  are 
worn  out  or  are  too  small  are  being  torn  down  and  bigger  and  better 
buildings  are  being  put  up  instead.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  town 
new  streets  are  being  laid  out.  Perhaps  some  of  the  old  streets  are 
being  rebuilt  with  better  paving,  or  the  sidewalks  are  being  widened, 
or  gas-pipes  or  sewers  are  being  placed  in  deep  trenches.  The  condi- 
tions under  which  people  live  their  common  life  in  the  city  are  being 
improved  all  the  time.  And  the  way  their  common  affairs  are  being 
managed  is  changing  from  year  to  year — new  officers  are  elected,  new 
ways  of  doing  things  are  adopted.  And  so  the  city  changes  and 
grows  and  is  never  finished.  Yet  we  live  in  it  all  the  time  it  is  being 
built. 

So  it  is  with  the  City  of  God.  The  City  of  God  is  not  finished.  It 
is  changing  and  growing,  and  we  ourselves  are  living  in  it  even  while 
we  are  building  it. 

God  is  not  building  the  City  all  alone.  Look  around  at  this  beau- 
tiful room  in  which  we  are  sitting.  No  one  person  built  this  building. 
There  was  the  architect  who  made  the  plans,  and  the  contractor  who 
hired  the  workmen  and  bought  the  wood  and  stone  and  iron,  the  men 
who  cut  the  stone  and  laid  it  in  place,  the  carpenters  who  built  the 
floors  and  the  seats,  the  artists  who  designed  the  windows,  the  paint- 
ers who  decorated  the  walls  and  ceiling.  Hundreds  of  people  worked 
to  build  this  building.  Hundreds  of  thousands  are  helping  to  build  the 
City  of  God. 

62 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  63 

But  the  workmen  have  to  learn  how.  It  was  so  with  the  men  who 
built  this  church.  The  architect,  the  masons,  the  carpenters,  the 
artists,  the  painters,  and  all  the  others  had  to  work  long  years  before 
they  became  skilful  enough  to  build  this  building.  They  had  to 
learn  how  to  make  plans,  and  cut  stone,  and  lay  floors,  and  make 
furniture,  and  design  windows.  So  we  are  learning  how  to  build  the 
City  of  God  by  coming  here  to  school  and  to  church.  That  is  what  our 
school  is  for.  But  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  become  skilful  workmen. 
Sunday  after  Sunday,  year  after  year,  we  will  come  to  learn  until  we 
get  to  be  master  workmen,  who  can  build  wisely  and  well. 

Not  long  ago  we  started  together  to  build  one  of  the  houses  of 
this  great  City  of  God — the  House  of  Friendship.  We  shall  keep  on 
living  in  the  House  of  Friendship,  and  its  doors  will  always  be  open 
to  all  who  wish  to  join  us  there.  But  we  must  go  on  to  build  other 
houses.  Perhaps  the  house  we  most  need  just  now  in  God's  City  is 
the  House  of  Justice.  It  will  be  harder  to  build  this  house  than  it 
has  been  to  build  the  House  of  Friendship.  But  we  bring  to  our 
work  all  the  skill  we  have  gained  from  what  we  have  already  done. 

In  this  House  of  Justice  which  we  shall  help  to  build  all  the  quar- 
rels of  men  will  be  ended,  for  every  man  and  every  nation  will  be 
treated  fairly.  No  one  will  withhold  from  anyone  else  the  food,  the 
clothing,  the  work,  the  happiness,  the  opportunity,  that  is  his  by  right. 
And  so  the  world  will  be  at  peace,  and  wars  shall  cease  forever. 

PRAYER  * 

O  Thou,  who  art  our  Father  and  our  God,  we  thank  Thee  for  all 
the  great  and  wise  men  who  have  tried  through  all  the  ages  to  guide 
the  nations  of  the  earth  according  to  Thy  will.  And  we  thank  Thee  for 
all  the  brave,  strong-hearted  women  through  whom  the  world  has 
received  shelter,  comfort  and  inspiration. 

We  pray,  our  Father,  for  our  country.  May  we  be  enabled  to  do 
our  share  in  cleansing  it  of  all  dross  of  corruption  and  oppression.  We 
pray  for  the  nations  of  the  world  in  their  struggle  to  win  for  them- 
selves peace  and  dignity  and  stability.    May  their  leaders  be  guided  by 

*  From  the  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,  p.  83,  copyright,  1915,  by  Charles 
Scribner's   Sons. 


64  ,      THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

the  desire  to  achieve  for  their  countrymen  all  that  the  world  has  found 
to  be  wise  and  good. 

As  we  begin  to  take  a  larger  part  in  the  life  and  activities  of  the 
world,  grant,  our  Father,  that  we  may  do  what  is  wise  and  good, 
whether  it  seems  at  first  to  bring  us  success  or  not.  For  we  would 
play  fair  in  the  game  of  life. 

We  pray,  our  Father,  for  all  whose  hearts  are  saddened  by  the  loss 
of  any  whom  they  love.  Renew  their  faith.  Give  them  courage  and 
hope.  May  they  find  rich  comfort  in  the  knowledge  of  Thy  goodness 
and  love.  And  grant,  O  Father,  that,  whether  through  sorrow  or 
through  joy,  we  may  all  share  in  the  sure  coming  of  Thy  Kingdom 
as  brother  workers  with  our  leader  and  friend,  Jesus  Christ.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   ASSIST   IN    BRIDGING    THE   GAP   BETWEXN    WORSHIP   AND    STUDY    AND   SERVICE 

As  noted  before,  before  using  any  of  the  following  topics  for  discussion,  it  is 
well  to  glance  over  the  general  questions  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Do  you  know  what  "justice"  is?  Do  you  know  what  it  is  to  "play  fair"? 
Is  it  always  easy  to  play  fair?  What  makes  it  hard?  Do  you  suppose  our  wor- 
ship every  Sunday  might  help  us  all  to  play  fair?  How  do  you  think  we  can  play 
fair  in  the  service? 

2.  Do  you  like  that  call  to  worship  we  used  this  morning?  How  many 
remember  it?     Do  you  know  where  it  is  from?   (Micah  6:8).     What  would  you 

think  of  all  the  children's  saying  it  together  from  memory?     Shall  we  ask  

(the  leader)  what  he  thinks  of  that  idea?  That  would  make  a  pretty  good  rule 
for  Section  H  of  the  Ordinances  of  the  City  of  God,  wouldn't  it?  Or  would  it  be 
better  as  a  part  of  the  Charter? 

3.  What  is  the  relation  between  friendship  and  justice?  How  essential  do 
you  think  justice  is  to  the  City  of  God?  How  do  men  discover  what  the  "just" 
thing  is  in  any  given  case? 


13 
The  Just  Prince 

Scripture:     Amos  5  :  6-9,  21,  24. 
Psalm:      146. 

Hymns:  "As  the  sun  doth  daily  rise;"  "O  Love  of  God;"  "Christ  for  the 
world   we  sing." 

Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  a  king  and  a  prince  all  alone  in  a 
big  castle  away  up  on  a  high  hill.  There  was  a  big  iron  fence  around 
the  castle  with  two  gates  in  it,  one  on  the  north  and  one  on  the  south. 
And  before  each  of  these  gates  were  soldiers  night  and  day,  lest  some- 
one should  get  in  and  kill  the  King  or  carry  off  the  Prince.  The  Prince, 
whose  name  was  Rowland,  was  very  lonely.  Long  before  he  could 
remember  his  mother  had  died,  and  he  had  been  brought  up  by  a 
nurse  who  was  not  very  kind. 

One  day  Prince  Rowland  stole  down  from  his  playroom  in  the 
castle  to  the  garden,  and  saw  that  the  guard  at  the  gate  was  asleep. 
He  darted  through  the  gate  and  ran  away  down  to  the  village  which 
lay  in  the  valley  below  the  castle.  As  he  walked  along  he  saw  lots 
of  children  playing  in  the  streets,  and  having  more  fun  than  he  had 
ever  dreamed  of.  It  was  not  long  before  Prince  Rowland  joined  in  the 
fun  and  was  having  the  finest  time  ever. 

Rowland  made  friends  that  day  with  many  of  the  children,  but 
especially  with  a  little  boy  named  Bobby  Green.  So  as  often  as  he 
could  find  the  guard  asleep  he  would  steal  away  down  to  the  village 
by  the  river  to  the  little  hut  where  Bobby  lived.  One  day  the  Prince 
was  on  the  doorstep  waiting  for  Bobby  to  come  out,  when  he  heard 
Bobby  and  his  mother  talking. 

"Mother,"  Bobby  was  saying,  "why  can't  we  live  in  a  big  stone 
castle  like  the  good  Prince  Rowland?" 

"Why,  because  we  are  so  poor,  son,"  replied  his  mother  as  she 
went  on  with  her  work. 

65 


66  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

"Well,  Mother,  why  are  we  so  poor?"  insisted  Bobby. 

"Because  your  father  works  in  the  factory  and  earns  scarcely 
enough  for  your  clothes  and  bread,  son." 

"Well,  Mama,  why  isn't  the  King  poor  too?" 

"Because  he  gets  taxes  from  the  people." 

"Mother,  do  we  pay  taxes?" 

"Yes." 

"Did  our  money  help  build  the  big  castle?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  Mother,  then  why  can't  I  even  look  through  the  iron  bars 
at  the  flowers?  I  was  up  there  calling  for  the  Prince  one  day  but 
the  soldiers  drove  me  away." 

"I  can't  tell  you,  my  boy." 

"Mother,  who  pays  all  the  soldiers?" 

"The  King,  dear." 

"Then  the  King  takes  our  money  and  pays  soldiers  to  keep  us  from 
looking  at  our  own  flowers?" 

"Run  on  and  play,  son,"  said  the  kind  mother;  "perhaps  some  day 
you  will  see  the  King." 

This  conversation  made  the  Prince  very  thoughtful.  He  wondered 
why  all  this  should  be.  It  made  him  ashamed  of  his  father,  the  King, 
and  he  thought  how  much  he'd  rather  live  with  Bobby  all  the  time 
than  up  in  the  castle. 

Then  many  days  passed  and  Bobby  did  not  see  Rowland.  He 
heard  that  the  King  had  caught  him  and  forbidden  him  to  leave  the 
castle.  Then  later  war  was  declared  by  a  near-by  nation  and  the 
Prince  had  to  go  to  war  with  his  father  and  the  army.  Many  boys' 
fathers  had  to  go,  too,  and  among  them  Bobby's  father.  Bobby  was 
too  young  to  go,  so  he  took  care  of  his  mother.  Day  after  day  the 
news  kept  coming  of  someone  killed  or  wounded,  and  more  men  had 
to  go.  So  many  went  that  the  older  children  had  to  leave  school  and 
go  to  the  factories  with  the  women  to  make  guns  and  shells. 

By  and  by  the  war  was  over  and  Prince  Rowland  returned  to  find 
that  his  father,  the  King,  had  died.  But  he  noticed  that  all  the 
people  were  glad  to  see  him  and  no  one  seemed  sorry  about  the  death 
of  the  King.    Rowland  became  King  in  his  stead,  and  the  very  first 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  67 

thing  he  did  was  to  tear  down  the  iron  fence  around  the  Royal  Palace 
and  dismiss  all  the  soldiers.  He  planted  gardens  for  the  children,  and 
made  playgrounds  for  them. 

But  he  found  that  the  war  had  left  the  village  in  a  terrible  con- 
dition. He  met  children  in  the  streets  who  he  thought  were  returning 
from  school  and  found  that  they  were  coming  from  work  in  factories. 
He  saw  blind  and  crippled  soldiers  helplessly  trying  to  get  along, 
and  women  working  beyond  their  strength. 

Then  he  made  over  the  whole  Royal  Palace  and  took  in  all  the 
fatherless  children  and  all  the  blind  and  crippled  and  all  who  had 
been  made  poor  by  the  greed  and  injustice  of  his  father's  reign.  How 
happy  they  all  were !  And  they  all  agreed  to  do  something  for  the  vil- 
lage each  day.  King  Rowland  with  the  rest.  One  would  pick  up 
paper  and  glass,  another  would  weed  the  garden,  another  would  sweep 
the  sidewalks.  And  after  a  while  Rowland  decided  that  the  castle 
should  no  more  be  called  the  Royal  Palace,  but  the  House  of  Justice. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   ASSIST    IN    BRIDGING   THE   GAP   BETWEEN    WORSHIP   AND   STUDY   AND    SERVICE 

General  questions  on  p.  ii. 

1.  What  share  do  you  suppose  we  could  have  in  building  the  House  of  Justice? 
Last  week,  you  remember,  we  said  justice  meant  "playing  fair"  to  everybody. 
(Here  the  use  to  which  the  children  are  putting  their  money  or  their  work  for  hos- 
pital children  or  others  who  are  not  getting  a  square  deal  may  be  associated  with 
the  school  enterprise  for  this  period  and  with  Rowland's  treatment  of  the  children 
and   unfortunates   of   his   town.) 

2.  Do  you  think  the  King  played  fair  in  the  story?  Bobby  certainly  asked 
his  mother  some  hard  questions.  (Read  story  at  this  point  if  it  is  not  remem- 
bered.) How  would  you  have  answered  Bobbie  if  you  had  been  his  mother? 
Did  the  Prince  play  fair?  Did  any  of  the  scripture  lesson  suggest  a  rule  for 
Section  H  of  our  Ordinances?  (Quote  Amos  5:24.)  This  is  one  of  the  great 
verses  of  the  Bible. 

3.  Why  do  followers  of  Jesus  lay  stress  on  justice?  Is  there  anything  about 
our  own  school  or  church  or  class  or  home  that  needs  to  be  changed  in  the  inter- 
est of  justice?  Who  are  going  to  build  the  new  social  order?  (Classes  dealing 
with  social  problems  will  find  it  easy  to  take  over  the  emotional  values  of  the 
worship  into  the  class  discussions  and  to  tie  up  their  work  with  the  scheme  for 
the  period.) 


14 

On  Prayer 

Scripture:     Luke  ii:i-io. 
Psalm:     139. 

Hynms:  "God  is  love,  His  mercy  brightens ;"  "The  Lord  is  rich  and  merci- 
ful ;"  "O  Master,  let  me  walk  with  thee," 

Jesus  prayed.  And  he  taught  his  disciples  to  pray.  When  they 
came  to  him  and  asked  him  to  teach  them  to  pray,  you  notice  he  said: 

"When  ye  pray "    He  did  not  say,  "Ij  ye  pray."    He  knew  they 

prayed. 

Every  one  of  you  prays.  "Oh,  no,"  someone  says,  "I  don't."  Don't 
you?  Well,  perhaps  you  think  "saying  prayers"  is  praying.  It  isn't, 
always,  and  sometimes  people  pray  who  don't  "say  their  prayers." 
Praying  is  a  much  bigger  thing  than  saying  prayers. 

Sometimes  you  have  been  away  from  home  on  a  visit.  You  had 
a  wonderful  time.  But  after  a  while  you  began  to  miss  something. 
Perhaps  you  got  a  little  homesick,  even  though  you  wouldn't  admit  it. 
And  when  you  came  home  you  came  with  that  strange  excitement  and 
expectancy  we  all  feel  when  we  are  on  our  way  home.  What  was  it 
you  missed  that  made  you  feel  lonesome  and  shy  and  not  quite  your- 
self? Why  it  was  the  confidence  and  assurance  that  comes  when  we 
know  someone  whom  we  can  trust  is  backing  us  up.  The  boy  with  a 
big,  strong  older  brother  can  afford  to  take  risks  with  his  neighbor  be- 
cause he  knows  he  will  be  backed  up!  Well,  God  backs  us  up,  too. 
Prayer  is  the  consciousness  that  God  is  backing  us  up. 

I  once  read  these  words  in  the  diary  of  a  young  man  of  eighteen  who 
was  a  senior  in  high  school.  His  team  had  just  played  a  tie  game  with 
a  rival,  and  he  made  the  touchdown.  "The  fellows  took  me  off  the 
field  on  their  shoulders,"  he  writes.  "It  was  a  happy  day  for  me, 
though  I  wish  we  could  have  won.  Yet  it  is  all  to  Him  that  the  glory 
and  honor  is  due.  It  is  He  who  helped  me  to  make  that  run,  and  my 
heart  went  out  to  Him  in  simple  adoration." 

68 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  69 

And  do  you  remember  the  Psalm  that  says:  "For  by  thee  I  run 
through  a  troop;  and  by  my  God  do  I  leap  over  a  wall"? 

Why  shouldn't  we  have  the  same  feeling  of  God's  help  right  here, 
at  school,  in  our  games,  our  examinations,  our  work?  In  all  these  tests 
of  our  strength,  these  ordeals,  these  daily  duties  and  contests,  there  is 
something  we  all  want,  and  that  is  power.  We  want  mastery  over  our- 
selves, over  things,  over  forces. 

Now,  is  there  any  relation  between  power  and  prayer? 

Some  of  the  greatest  men  that  ever  lived  have  thought  so  and  found 
it  to  be  so.  Our  great  leaders  have  been  men  who  prayed.  Men  who 
have  achieved  great  things  and  have  conquered  tremendous  obstacles 
have  so  often  been  men  of  prayer.  Take  Grenfell,  for  example.  "The 
privilege  of  prayer,"  he  says,  "to  me  is  one  of  the  most  cherished  pos- 
sessions, because  faith  and  experience  alike  convince  me  that  God  him- 
self sees  and  answers,  and  his  answers  I  never  venture  to  criticize.  .  .  . 
In  the  quiet  of  the  home,  in  the  heat  of  life  and  strife,  in  the  face  of 
death,  the  privilege  of  speech  with  God  is  inestimable  .  .  .  when  I  can 
neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor  speak,  still  I  can  pray  so  that  God  can  hear." 
So  there  are  thousands  of  men  in  all  times  and  places  who  have  found 
power  in  prayer. 

What  is  this  power? 

Whenever  you  see  a  new  tool  that  you  have  never  seen  before,  you 
immediately  ask:  "What  is  it  for?"  You  could  not  use  it  if  you  did 
not  know  what  it  was  for.  Back  of  every  tool  and  machine  that  was 
ever  made  lies  a  purpose,  and  you  have  to  know  what  this  purpose  is 
before  you  have  power  over  the  tool  or  the  machine.  So,  back  of 
nature,  with  all  its  mystery  and  its  grandeur,  back  of  the  events  of 
human  life,  the  daily  routine,  the  strife  and  clash  of  men,  the  beauty 
and  peace  of  homes,  lies  the  purpose  of  God.  Could  we  know  this  pur- 
pose, we  could  master  the  affairs  of  our  daily  life. 

But  how  can  we  find  out  what  this  purpose  is?  By  studying  chem- 
istry, or  mathematics,  or  geography,  or  medicine,  or  law?  No:  by 
prayer. 

Men  of  power  are  men  of  prayer;  they  are  constantly  discovering 
God's  purpose  for  the  world,  and  so  they  overcome  the  world. 


70  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

PRAYER 

(Suggesting  at  first  the  thought  for  silent  prayer.  Each  of  the 
introductory  sentences  should  be  followed  by  a  moment  of  silence.) 

And  now  let  each  one  of  us  say  in  his  own  heart — 

Lord,  teach  us  to  pray.  .  .  . 

And  now  let  each  one  of  us  say  in  his  own  heart — 

Father,  we  want  to  understand  Thy  will.  .  .  . 

We  want  to  know  what  this  world  is  for  in  which  we  live.  We  want 
to  be  a  part  of  the  world's  life,  our  Father.  .  .  . 

We  want  to  share  in  carrying  out  Thy  purpose.  .  .  . 

We  want  to  help  and  to  know  what  we  can  do  to  help.  .  .  . 

We  would  offer  ourselves  as  workmen  in  Thy  Kingdom  for  the 
building  of  a  better  world. 

We  would  be  strong  to  overcome  all  our  childish  faults,  to  resist  all 
temptations,  to  forgive  all  those  who  do  us  wrong. 

We  would  forget  the  failures  and  mistakes  and  sins  that  lie  behind 
us  and  press  on  toward  the  goal  unto  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

And  now  and  always  we  would  pray  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  our 
Master  and  Friend.    Amen. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

General  questions  are  on  p.  ii. 

It  may  take  several  weeks  to  bring  the  children  to  the  point  of  desiring  to 
make  their  own  prayer  for  the  class,  each  one  contributing  a  phrase  or  a  whole 
prayer,  to  be  built  into  a  class  prayer.  Frequent  conversations  are  necessary 
with  children  who  are  not  used  to  prayer  in  the  home.  There  is  not  so  much  need 
of  discussion  here  as  there  is  of  the  experience  of  prayer  under  the  leadership  of 
the  teacher  or  parent.  As  this  experience  grows,  discussion  should  follow  the 
lead  of  the  children's  own  questions  about  prayer. 

With  the  older  children,  who  have  had  more  experience  of  prayer,  the  philos- 
ophy and  psychology  of  prayer  can  at  once  be  taken  up.  The  leader,  however, 
should  first  prepare  himself  by  study  *  to  handle  the  typical  questions  of  young 
people. 

*  Teachers  will  find  other  stories  about  prayer  in  the  Manual  for  Training  in 
Worship,  under  the  heading  "Reverence."  See  also  Mumford,  E.  E.  R.,  The  Dawn 
of  Religion  in  the  Mind  of  a  Child;  Fosdick,  H.  E.,  The  Meaning  of  Prayer. 


IS 

Mary  Stone  * 

Scripture:     Matt.    i8:i-6;    19:13-15. 
Psalm:     98. 

Hymns:  "All  things  bright  and  beautiful;"  "The  King  of  Love  my  shepherd 
is;"  "Immortal  Love." 

A  number  of  years  ago  there  was  born  in  central  China  a  baby  girl. 
Now  many  baby  girls  in  China  are  not  wanted  at  all.  Maybe  you 
have  heard  grown-ups  in  this  country  talking  about  giving  away  the 
baby,  but  you  knew  they  were  only  joking  and  really  wouldn't  think  of 
doing  such  a  thing.  But  in  China  girl  babies  are  often  so  unwelcome 
that  sometimes  they  are  actually  given  away  or  left  to  die  because  they 
are  not  wanted.  But  little  Maiyii  (which  means  "Beautiful  Gem") 
was  more  fortunate  than  most  Chinese  girls,  because  she  was  born  into 
a  Christian  home. 

But  there  was  another  way  in  which  she  was  different  from  most 
Chinese  girls.  At  that  time  all  the  girls  had  their  feet  bound  when  they 
were  very  young,  so  they  would  remain  small  all  their  lives.  They 
thought  it  looked  pretty,  but  oh,  the  aches  and  pains  that  came  to  the 
little  feet  that  wanted  to  grow  when  the  bandages  wouldn't  let  them! 
But  little  "Beautiful  Gem"  was  to  be  different  here  also,  for  her  father 
and  mother  decided  when  she  was  very  small  that  they  would  never 
have  her  feet  bound  and  crippled,  for  they  were  Christians. 

When  little  Maiyii  was  only  eight  years  old,  her  father  and  mother 
brought  her  to  the  American  missionary  doctor  and  told  him,  "We  want 
our  daughter  to  become  a  doctor."  This  was  unheard  of,  a  Chinese 
girl  to  become  a  doctor!    Why  should  she  want  to  be  a  doctor? 

Well,  suppose  for  a  moment  that  we  had  no  doctors  in  this  big  city, 
not  a  single  one.    Nobody  at  all  to  look  after  us  when  we  have  diseases 

*  Based  on  data  found  in  Margaret  E.  Burton's  Notable  JVomen  of  Modern 
China,  copyright  by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 

71 


72  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

or  accidents.  And  let  us  suppose,  too,  that  father  and  mother  did  not 
know  very  much  about  how  to  keep  us  well  or  to  nurse  us  if  we  were 
sick.  Suppose  they  didn't  know  what  a  good  medicine  fresh  air  is,  or 
even  how  to  keep  the  food  we  eat  and  the  milk  we  drink  good  and  clean 
and  wholesome.  Don't  you  think  we  would  need  a  few  doctors  to  tell 
us  how  to  keep  well  and  to  look  after  us  when  we  were  sick? 

China  was  very  much  like  this,  and  still  is  in  many  places.  But 
there  was  one  good  American  doctor  there  at  the  mission,  and  he  was 
doing  so  much  to  help  the  people  that  little  Maiyii  thought  nothing  else 
in  the  world  could  be  so  interesting  as  to  become  a  doctor  and  help  too. 

But  it  seemed  such  a  long  time  before  she  could  become  a  doctor. 
She  was  only  eight,  and  there  were  long  years  of  going  to  school  in 
China.  I  am  sure  she  must  have  been  discouraged  a  great  many  times, 
but  she  worked  hard;  and  finally  the  time  came  when  she  was  to  leave 
for  America  to  study  medicine.  When  she  arrived,  people  had  such 
a  hard  time  remembering  her  name  that  she  changed  it  from  "Maiyii" 
to  the  English  "Mary  Stone." 

At  last  she  was  ready  to  go  back  and  begin  her  work.  How  she  had 
looked  forward  to  it!  And  the  Chinese  were  just  as  glad  to  see  her 
as  she  was  to  get  back.  It  was  only  a  very  short  time  before  she  had  so 
many  sick  and  blind  and  crippled  people  coming  to  her  to  be  healed 
that  she  couldn't  possibly  take  care  of  them  all.  Just  imagine  how 
many  people  there  would  be  here  to  see  a  doctor  if  we  hadn't  had  any 
for  a  long  time  and  finally  got  just  one! 

There  were  so  many  that  a  hospital  was  needed.  A  friend  in  Chi- 
cago gave  Dr.  Stone  the  money  for  the  building.  It  is  a  beautiful  place, 
so  nice  that  the  people  who  come  there  are  almost  cured  just  by  the 
clean  bedding  and  the  care  of  the  kind  nurses. 

And  that  is  how  little  Maiyii's  dream  came  true,  how  a  little  Chi- 
nese girl  became  a  noted  doctor,  able  to  help  the  people  she  loved,  who 
needed  her  so  much.  She  not  only  helped  to  cure  people  who  were 
sick,  but  she  also  taught  them  the  things  they  most  needed  to  know. 
Other  missionaries  are  doing  their  best  in  other  places,  and  some 
day  we  shall  have  a  China  where  none  of  the  little  girls  bind 
their  feet,  and  where  there  are  doctors  enough  to  go  around,  and  where 
everyone  can  have  a  Christian  education.    And  when  that  time  comes 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  73 

it  will  be  because  we  have  helped  the  Chinese  people  to  become  Chris- 
tians, and  to  take  care  of  their  children  just  as  Beautiful  Gem's  father 
and  mother  took  care  of  her. 

PRAYER 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  all  the  great  and  good 
people  who  have  lived  and  who  are  now  living  and  working  in  Thy 
world.  Give  them  the  faith  and  courage  they  need  for  their  tasks.  We 
pray  for  all  who  are  anywhere  in  the  world  trying  to  make  people  bet- 
ter and  happier.  Help  us  to  make  them  our  friends  in  the  comradeship 
of  Christian  service. 

May  Thy  blessing  rest  upon  our  brothers  and  sisters  everywhere, 
in  China  and  India  and  Japan  and  Africa  and  Europe,  or  wherever 
they  may  be.  Thou  knowest  and  carest  alike  for  them  and  for  us. 
Help  us  to  help  effectively  wherever  we  can,  and  grant  that  we  may 
learn  to  give  of  our  love  and  strength  where  people  need  us  most. 

We  ask  it  in  the  spirit  of  him  who  went  about  healing  and  teaching 
and  doing  good  to  all  men,  Jesus,  our  Lord.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   FOLLOW   UP  THE   SERVICE 

Preliminary  questions  are  given  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Why  do  you  suppose  Jesus  was  so  fond  of  little  children?  I  think  the 
Heavenly  Father  loves  them  all,  too,  don't  you?  How  does  he  take  care  of  them? 
Supposing  they  haven't  any  fathers  or  mothers?  Supposing  their  fathers  and 
mothers  don't  know  how  to  take  care  of  them?  What  did  Mary  Stone  do  to 
help  God  take  care  of  the  little  Chinese  children? 

2.  Do  you  suppose  Mary  Stone  ever  wanted  to  stay  where  everyone  thought 
highly  of  her  and  appreciated  her  and  where  she  could  be  comfortable,  instead  of 
going  back  to  her  own  people,  who  couldn't  understand  her?  Why  do  you  sup- 
pose she  went  back?  What  do  you  mean  by  "wanted  to"?  What  did  she  really 
want?  That  comes  pretty  close  to  what  we  want  in  our  House  of  Justice,  doesn't 
it? 

3.  What  did  Jesus  mean  by  saying,  '"Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven"  ? 
What  place  have  children  of  any  race  in  God's  plan?  Are  we  under  any  obligation 
to  see  that  justice  is  done  to  other  people's  children?  What  will  a  Christian  social 
order  do  for  children? 


i6 
Abraham  Lincoln 

Scripture:    Philippians  3:12-14;  4:8. 
Psalm:     121. 

Hymns:  "O  worship  the  King;"  "Where  cross  the  crowded  ways  of  life;" 
"O  God  who  workest  hitherto." 

All  of  US  carry  around  some  sort  of  a  picture  in  our  minds  of  the 
great  men  we  have  heard  about.  Whenever  I  think  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln I  always  picture  in  my  mind  an  immensely  tall  man,  dressed  in 
homely  fashion,  with  the  kindest  smile  and  the  most  fatherly  eyes  you 
ever  saw.  Now  if  you  will  all  shut  your  eyes  for  a  minute  and  try  to 
think  what  Abraham  Lincoln  looks  like  to  you,  I  will  try  to  tell  you  one 
or  two  of  the  many  little  stories  told  about  him  which  help  me  when  I 
try  to  picture  what  sort  of  a  man  he  was. 

Lincoln  loved  living  things.  You  have  probably  all  heard  the  story 
of  Lincoln  and  the  birds.  How  one  day  Lincoln  and  a  party  of  friends 
were  traveling  through  a  thicket  of  wild  plum  and  crab-apple  trees. 
It  was  a  warm  day,  and  the  men  stopped  to  water  the  horses.  Soon 
they  were  ready  to  start  off  again,  but  Lincoln  was  not  to  be  found. 

"Where  is  Lincoln?"  everyone  asked.  ''I  saw  him  a  few  minutes 
ago,"  answered  one  of  the  party.  "He  had  found  two  little  birds  who 
had  tumbled  out  of  their  nest,  and  he  was  looking  around  to  find  the 
nest  so  that  he  could  put  them  back  again." 

Before  long  Lincoln  returned,  very  happy.  He  had  found  the  nest 
and  put  the  birdlings  safely  back.  His  friends  laughed,  but  Lincoln 
said:  "If  I  had  not  put  those  birds  back  in  the  nest  where  their  mother 
will  feed  them,  I  could  not  have  slept  all  night."  This  story  always 
helps  me  to  picture  Lincoln  as  I  like  to  look  at  him,  the  friend  of 
animals. 

Lincoln  loved  people,  just  people,  all  kinds  of  people.  I  was  read- 
ing the  other  day  how  one  of  his  old  friends  back  home  visited  him 
when  he  was  President  of  the  United  States  in  Washington.    The  man's 

74 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  75 

name  was  Billy  Brown,  and  he  kept  a  drug  store  in  Springfield,  Illinois, 
where  Lincoln  used  to  trade  when  he  was  just  a  young  lawyer.  Billy 
Brown  was  shown  into  a  long  waiting-room  at  the  White  House,  where 
there  were  so  many  people  waiting  to  see  the  President  that  he  was 
becoming  nervous  and  scared.  Then  the  President's  secretary  came  in. 
Billy  knew  him  slightly  and  asked  where  Lincoln  was.  "Have  you  an 
appointment  with  the  President?"  asked  the  secretary  sharply. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Billy,  "it  isn't  necessary.  Just  tell  him  Billy  Brown 
is  here."  In  about  two  minutes  the  door  opened  and  out  came  Mr. 
Lincoln,  leaving  all  the  important-looking  politicians  and  office-seek- 
ers, and,  as  Billy  described  it,  "just  shook  hands  fit  to  kill."  "Billy," 
he  said,  "come  right  in.    You're  going  to  stay  to  supper  with  me." 

So  when  I  close  my  eyes  and  try  to  think  how  Abraham  Lincoln 
looked,  the  picture  looks  just  a  little  different  when  I  think  of  him 
laughing  and  joking  and  having  a  good  time  with  this  old  friend  of  his 
who  was  just  the  keeper  of  the  little  drug  store  in  a  country  town. 
Lincoln  loved  people. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  I  like  to  think  of  Lincoln.  I  like  to 
see  him  standing  on  the  rear  platform  of  the  train  that  was  to  take  him 
away  from  all  of  his  old  friends  and  neighbors  at  Springfield  to  the 
difficult  and  dangerous  task  of  being  President  of  the  United  States  in 
time  of  civil  war.  A  heavy  rain  was  pouring  down,  but  all  the  people 
he  had  known  since  he  was  a  boy  were  there  to  see  him  off.  I  can 
almost  see  him  as  he  stands  there  bareheaded  in  the  rain  and  says: 

"I  leave,  not  knowing  when,  or  whether  ever  I  may  return,  with  a  task 
before  me  greater  than  that  which  rested  on  Washington.  Without  the 
assistance  of  that  Divine  Being  who  ever  attended  him,  I  cannot  succeed. 
With  that  assistance  I  cannot  fail.  Trusting  in  Him  who  can  go  with  me, 
and  remain  with  you,  and  be  everywhere  for  good,  let  us  confidently  hope 
that  all  will  yet  be  well.  To  His  care  commending  you,  as  I  hope  in  your 
prayers  you  will  commend  me,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell." 

PRAYER 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  We 
thank  Thee  for  his  life  of  heroic  service,  and  his  spirit  of  kindliness  and 
love  to  all  things  and  all  people. 


76  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

As  Thou  didst  teach  him,  so  teach  us,  we  pray  Thee,  the  things 
that  are  truly  worth  while.  Forgive  us  that  we  so  often  fail  to  do  the 
best  we  know,  and  give  us  strength  and  wisdom,  and  help  us  to  love 
everybody.  Go  with  us  this  day  and  all  the  days,  and  help  us  to  live  as 
Thy  children.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   USE   AFTER   THE   SERVICE   OF    WORSHIP 

See  p.  II  for  general  questions. 

1.  Who  was  Abraham  Lincoln?  Do  you  remember  his  picture?  (Have  one 
at  hand.)  He  wasn't  too  important  to  be  friendly  even  to  a  little  bird,  was  he? 
Who  will  tell  us  that  story?  And  he  never  forgot  his  old  friends.  Do  you  remem- 
ber about  Billy  Brown?  And  he  wasn't  too  proud  to  say  he  trusted  in  God.  Would 
you  like  to  hear  again  that  little  speech  he  made  while  he  stood  saying  good-by  to 
his  friends?    (Read  it.) 

2.  Lincoln  ought  to  suggest  some  rules  for  the  second  section  of  our  city 
ordinances.     Even  his   enemies    felt  he   was  just. 

3.  What  has  government  to  do  with  the  building  of  the  City  of  God?  Give 
instances  in  which  certain  administrations  have  really  forwarded  the  cause  of 
justice.  Do  you  recall  instances  which  have  violated  justice?  What  is  the  citi- 
zen's responsibility  for  the  acts  of  government?  How  should  we  right  now  be 
sharing  in  government?  (There  are  local  as  well  as  state  or  national  issues  which 
need  on  one  side  or  the  other  the  support  of  all  citizens,  young  as  well  as  old.) 


17 

Sharing  Our  Birthdays 

Scripture:  Hebrews  ii:  r,  8-10,  24-38,  12:  1-2. 
Psalm:     46. 

Hymns:  "God  is  the  refuge  of  His  saints;"  "Our  God  our  help;"  "O  Lord, 
our  God." 

Each  one  of  us  has  one  day  in  the  year  that  is  especially  our  own — 
our  birthday.  When  that  happy  day  comes  around  each  year  we  invite 
our  friends — our  parents  and  brothers  and  sisters  and  playmates — to 
come  to  our  birthday  party,  that  is,  to  share  our  birthday  with  us,  the 
games  and  the  presents  and  the  good  things  to  eat.  And  then  when 
their  birthdays  come,  we  share  their  happiness  too.  The  more  friends 
we  have  the  more  fun  everyone  has.  The  larger  our  House  of  Friend- 
ship is  and  the  juster  our  House  of  Justice,  the  bigger  birthday  party 
we  can  have  in  the  City  of  God. 

This  month  we  all  celebrate  two  birthdays.  They  don't  belong  to 
any  single  one  of  us,  but  to  all  of  us.  They  are  the  birthdays  of  two 
great  Americans,  on  the  12th  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  on  the 
22nd  that  of  another  great  President,  George  Washington.  And  just  as 
we  celebrate  our  birthdays  by  sharing  them  with  our  friends,  we  cele- 
brate the  birthdays  of  our  two  great  Presidents  by  going  to  school  with 
other  boys  and  girls,  and  listening  to  stories  of  the  great  deeds  of 
Washington  and  Lincoln.  We  do  all  this  because  Washington  and 
Lincoln  did  a  great  deal  to  make  all  American  boys  and  girls  proud  and 
happy  and  free  to-day. 

But  just  as  there  are  many  boys  and  girls  who  never  come  to  our 
birthday  parties,  because  they  don't  know  us  and  we  don't  know  them; 
so  there  are  many  children  in  other  lands  who  do  not  celebrate  as  we 
do  the  birthdays  of  George  Washington  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  They 
have  other  great  men  whom  we  never  heard  of;  and  perhaps  they  never 
heard  of  Washington  or  Lincoln.    In  countries  where  there  is  a  king, 

77 


78  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

the  children  celebrate  the  King's  birthday,  or  the  Queen's,  or  that  of 
some  great  soldier  or  statesman.  Indeed,  there  are  so  many  countries 
in  the  world  and  so  many  different  birthdays  that  it  is  said  that  if  you 
and  I  had  an  aeroplane,  and  could  travel  fast  enough,  we  could  go  to  a 
different  celebration  somewhere  in  the  world  every  single  day  in  the 
year.  That  means  that  somewhere,  in  Asia  or  Europe  or  Africa,  on 
every  day  in  the  year,  children  are  having  a  holiday. 

Now  surely  we  would  not  think  much,  would  we,  of  a  boy  or  girl 
friend  of  ours  who  kept  his  birthday  party  all  to  himself,  who  didn't 
invite  us  or  anyone  else  to  share  it  with  him;  and  I  don't  believe  such  a 
boy  or  girl  would  have  a  very  happy  birthday  all  alone.  And  the 
children  of  America  are  likely  to  be  unhappy  too,  if  they  say  to  the 
children  of  China  or  England  or  Russia  or  Africa,  ''We  are  going  to 
keep  our  big  American  birthday  parties  to  ourselves.  We  won't  let  you 
share  George  Washington  or  Abraham  Lincoln  with  us  because  they 
are  ours  and  you  are  not  our  friends! " 

So  just  the  way  we  share  our  birthdays  by  being  friends  to  other 
children,  we  can  share  our  national  birthdays  by  being  friendly  to  the 
children  of  other  lands,  instead  of  keeping  all  our  good  things  to  our- 
selves. 

But  perhaps  while  I  have  been  speaking,  some  of  you  have  been 
thinking  of  one  birthday  that  is  already  celebrated  by  children  in 
almost  every  corner  of  the  globe.  It  is  more  than  an  American  national 
holiday;  it  isn't  our  property  a  bit  more  than  it  is  the  property  of 
China  or  Russia  or  England  or  any  other  country  you  can  think  of,  for 
people  in  all  countries  celebrate  the  25th  of  December  as  the  birthday 
of  Jesus. 

On  the  12th  and  the  22nd  of  this  month  we  think  of  what  Washing- 
ton and  Lincoln  did  for  our  country,  and  for  justice  everywhere,  and 
that  makes  us  want  to  serve  our  own  beloved  land  the  way  they  served 
it,  courageously,  loyally,  righteously. 

On  Jesus'  birthday  we  remember  that  he  wanted  all  men  to  be 
brothers,  and  that  is  why  all  men,  and  children  too,  can  celebrate 
Christmas. 

And  if  we  carry  the  spirit  of  Christmas  through  into  January  and 
February  and  all  through  the  year,  trying  to  be  brothers  to  all  children 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  79 

everywhere,  all  in  the  family  of  our  Father,  the  time  will  not  be  far 
distant  when  all  the  children  of  the  great  world  family  can  honor  their 
heroes  together,  and,  above  all,  Jesus,  whose  birthday  and  whose  love 
they  all  share. 

PRAYER 

O  God  our  Father,  we  are  thankful  when  we  think  of  the  men 
whose  hearts  have  burned  with  patriotism,  and  whose  lives  were  utterly 
spent  in  making  men  free.  Forbid  that  we  should  forget  the  past,  O 
Father,  or  that  we  should  fail  to  lift  up  our  eyes  to  our  country  as  she 
shall  be  in  the  future — a  nation  of  just  peace,  a  nation  of  right  doing,  a 
nation  of  brotherhood.  May  Thy  love  so  triumph  in  our  hearts  that  we 
shall  serve  our  country  as  Washington  and  Lincoln  served  it,  and  that 
we  shall  serve  the  world  as  Jesus  served  it,  which  means  that  we  shall 
serve  the  whole  family  of  Thy  children.  This  we  ask  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  our  Master.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

FOR  USE  IN  CLASS  OR  HOME 

See  p.  II  for  preliminary  questions. 

1.  What  is  an  American?  How  many  Americans  do  you  suppose  there  are 
whose  fathers  and  mothers  or  whose  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  were  born 
in  some  other  country?  Can  all  of  us  sing  "My  country,  'tis  of  thee,"  even  if 
some  of  our  parents  were  not  born  here?  Is  it  fair  to  call  an  American  a  "for- 
eigner" ? 

2.  How  many  heroes  can  you  name  who  belong  to  other  countries  or  other 
races? 

3.  On  what  does  our  respect  for  a  man  depend?  On  his  parents?  Ob  the 
home  he  came  from?  On  his  college?  On  his  country?  On  his  race?  Is  there 
anything  national  about  a  real  hero,  or  does  he  belong  to  the  world,  like  great 
inventions  and  great  music?  If  great  men  belong  to  the  world,  how  about  the 
children  of  each  generation?  Is  the  new  world  order  going  to  be  built  by  any  one 
nation?    Can  it  be? 


i8 

Washington's  Birthday 
patriotism 

Scripture:     I  Corinthians  12:12-21,  26-7. 

Psalm:     95:i-7a;  96:10-13. 

Hymns:  "Rejoice,  ye  pure  in  heart;"  "God  of  our  fathers;"  "Not  alone  for 
mighty  empire;"  "O  beautiful  for  spacious  skies;"  "Thy  kingdom  come,  O  Lord." 
Call  to  Worship: 

"O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord;  call  upon  His  name; 
Make  known  His  deeds  among  the  people; 
Talk  ye  of   His  wondrous  works, 
Glory  ye  in   His  holy  name." 

Something  like  this,  I  imagine,  has  happened  to  each  one  of  you. 
You  have  been  disappointed  in  something  your  class  has  done.  It  may 
have  been  that  they  decided  to  spend  their  money  in  a  way  you  did  not 
approve.  Or  perhaps  they  agreed  to  do  some  special  task  during  the 
week,  home  work  maybe,  or  some  duty  at  a  social  affair,  some  errand, 
some  engagement,  and  you  felt  ashamed  that  they  failed  to  do  what 
they  said  they  would.  Or  perhaps  they  took  part  in  some  bit  of  foolish- 
ness that  interfered  with  what  some  other  class  was  doing;  and  it  made 
you  feel  badly  to  think  that  they  could  be  so  thoughtless. 

What  did  you  do  about  it?  Did  you  go  off  in  a  huff  and  say:  "I'll 
never  come  to  school  again ! "  Or  did  you  say:  "Well,  next  time,  I  guess 
I'll  have  to  try  ten  times  as  hard  to  make  things  go  right.  If  I'm  going 
to  be  a  member  of  this  class  I've  got  to  do  what  I  can  to  make  it  a 
good  class." 

Or  it  may  be  that  the  class  has  done  something  of  which  you  are 
proud.  They  have  spent  their  money  wisely.  Or  some  duty  that  they 
chose  or  which  was  assigned  to  them,  they  did  well,  or  they  were  faith- 
ful to  the  school  when  things  weren't  going  just  right,  and  you  were  glad 
that  you  could  feel  that  you  had  a  part  in  these  things. 

80 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  81 

So  whatever  your  class  does,  whether  it  is  something  to  be  proud 
of  or  something  to  be  ashamed  of,  you  feel  about  it  just  the  same  as  if 
you  had  done  it  yourself,  for  you  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  the  class  as 
your  hand  is  a  part  of  your  body. 

In  the  same  way,  our  country,  our  United  States  of  America,  is  a 
sort  of  great  big  class.  Sometimes  she  does  things  that  we  think  are 
wrong,  and  we  are  ashamed  of  her,  and  sometimes  she  does  things  that 
make  us  proud  and  glad  to  be  Americans.  But  when  she  does  the 
wrong  things,  we  don't  go  off  in  a  huff  and  say,  "Go  to,  now,  I  won't  be 
an  American  any  more."  Of  course  not.  We  say:  "Well,  if  I'm  going 
to  be  an  American  I  must  see  to  it  that  America  does  what's  right." 

So  you  see  whatever  America  does,  it  is  as  though  we  were  doing  it 
ourselves,  for  we  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  America  as  our  hand  is  a 
part  of  our  body. 

Now  if  our  country  is  just  like  a  big  class,  it  must  be  the  same  with 
other  countries.  Let's  pretend  that  each  class  is  a  different  country. 
Here  we  have  eighteen  different  classes,  all  the  way  from  the  kinder- 
garten children  who  are  only  four  or  five,  to  the  class  where  some  of 
our  fathers  and  mothers  are. 

Some  big  class,  like  the  fifth  grade,  might  be  England,  which  is  a 
big  country,  and  some  class  that  is  very  young,  like  the  first  grade, 
might  be  America,  which  is  a  young  country,  and  some  class  that  is 
old,  like  the  third  year  high  school,  might  be  China,  which  is  an  old 
country.  And  the  rest  can  be  the  other  countries:  Japan,  India,  Russia, 
and  all  the  rest.  Yet,  different  as  we  are  from  one  another,  here  we 
are,  all  together  in  one  room  all  doing  the  same  thing.  What  is  it  that 
we  are  all  doing  together?  Why  we  are  worshiping  and  enjoying 
being  together. 

A  little  while  ago  the  second  grade  *  had  a  seat  that  was  too  small 
for  them.  They  were  very  crowded  and  uncomfortable.  They  needed 
more  room.  But  did  any  of  you  see  any  of  the  second  grade  go  across 
the  aisle  and  begin  to  fight  the  first  grade  and  take  away  their  seats 
from  them?  I  didn't  see  anyone  do  that.  What  would  have  happened 
if  they  had?  The  service  would  have  stopped,  and  we  would  all  have 
been  ashamed  of  having  anything  like  that  happen  in  our  school.    The 

*  Use  this  or  a  similar  incident. 


82  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

second  grade  did  not  do  anything  like  that  for  they  know  we  don't  do 
things  that  way.  They  would  not  have  been  good  members  of  their 
class  if  they  had  not  done  what  was  right  for  the  whole  school.  And  we 
were  proud  of  them,  not  because  we  were  members  of  grade  four  or  six 
or  eight,  but  because  we  were  both  members  of  the  same  school. » 
Whatever  one  does,  affects  our  school,  the  whole  school,  no  matter 
what  class  you  are  in,  and  what  the  school  does  affects  you.  You  are 
just  as  much  a  part  of  the  school  as  your  hand  is  a  part  of  your  body. 

But  a  moment  ago  we  said  each  class  was  a  country.  Then  if  all 
our  classes  are  here  together,  we  must  be  the  whole  world — and  the 
chapel,  this  chapel,  must  be  the  temple  of  God  whose  roof  is  the  sky, 
and  whose  aisles  and  pews  are  the  hills  and  plains  and  valleys  of  the 
world;  and  in  this  temple  all  nations  can  worship  God  together. 

But  when  two  or  three  nations  make  trouble  and  start  to  fighting, 
the  rest  have  to  stop  what  they  are  doing  and  they  are  ashamed  that 
anything  like  that  should  happen.  On  the  other  hand,  when  some  one 
nation  does  a  noble  thing,  the  whole  world  rings  with  its  praises — not 
because  the  people  in  the  world  are  divided  up  into  Chinese  and 
English  and  American  and  all  the  rest,  but  because  they  are  all  mem- 
bers of  mankind.  We  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  mankind  as  our  hand 
is  a  part  of  our  body. 

During  the  war  we  did  not  send  clothing  and  flour  to  the  children 
of  Belgium  because  they  were  Belgians,  but  because  they  were  brothers 
and  sisters.  Nor  did  they  send  us  those  beautiful  notes  of  thanks 
embroidered  on  the  bags  in  which  their  flour  came  because  we  were 
Americans,  but  because  we  were  their  friends.  We  would  not  have 
been  good  Americans  if  we  had  not  done  it.  They  would  not  have 
been  good  Belgians  if  they  had  not  accepted  our  friendship.  We  can- 
not be  good  citizens  of  any  country  unless  we  are  good  citizens  of  the 
world.  Nor  can  we  love  our  country  as  good  patriots  should  unless  we 
love  more  something  that  is  greater  than  our  country,  and  that  some- 
thing is  all  mankind. 

PRAYER 

We  seek,  O  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man;  for  we  are  citizens  not 
of  our  country  alone,  but  also  of  the  world.    We  are  pupils  not  in  our 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  83 

own  school  only,  but  also  in  the  school  of  the  whole  world,  and  our 
schoolmates  are  the  children  of  every  nation  of  just  our  own  age,  who 
play  together,  and  study  together,  and  sing  together,  and  work  to- 
gether, just  as  we  do,  and,  many  of  them,  suffer  together.  We  would 
like  to  share  with  them  their  joys  and  sorrows,  their  hopes  and  disap- 
pointments, for  they  belong  to  us,  and  we  belong  to  them.  And  by  and 
by,  they  and  we,  who  are  now  children  together  in  the  world,  will  be- 
come men  and  women  together  in  the  world.  Then  we  shall  decide 
between  war  and  peace,  between  love  and  hate  among  nations. 

Grant,  O  God,  in  those  days  to  come,  that  the  ties  of  friendship  and 
love  that  now  bind  us  together  as  children  of  the  world  may  bind  us 
also  together  as  men  and  women.  May  the  new  laws  that  we  shall 
make  be  just  laws,  the  new  nations  we  shall  create  be  righteous  na- 
tions, so  that  the  new  world  that  is  to  be  our  world  and  our  children's 
world  shall  be  also  Thy  Kingdom. 

And  this  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  our  Master,  who  through  us 
who  now  are  Thy  children  shall  be  the  Savior  of  the  world.    Amen. 


^9 

Faith  in  the  Building  of  the  House  of  Justice 

Scripture:     Phil.  3:8-14. 
Psalm:     8. 

Hymns:  "Thy  kingdom  come,  O  Lord;"  "God  is  my  strong  salvation;"  "Re- 
joice, ye  pure  in  heart." 

One  day  some  children  were  walking  along  a  sandy  beach  near  the 
river's  edge  when  suddenly  one  of  them  said:  "Oh!  see  that  fine  stone 
house  down  there  on  the  sand!"  All  the  children  looked  where  he 
pointed,  but  not  one  of  them  could  see  a  fine  stone  house.  All  there 
was  in  sight  was  a  heap  of  stones  of  all  sizes  piled  up  together  on  the 
beach,  just  like  any  other  pile  of  stones.  So  the  children  laughed  at 
the  boy  who  said  he  saw  a  fine  stone  house.  But  it  wasn't  very  long 
before  they  found  out  that  he  was  right  and  they  were  wrong. 

"Come  on! "  he  said  to  the  rest  of  the  children.  "Let's  get  to  work 
and  build  the  fine  stone  house! "  And  then  they  saw  that  what  he  had 
seen  was  the  possibility  that  out  of  that  heap  of  stones  they  could  build 
a  fine  house. 

But  one  of  the  girls  said:  "No,  we  can't  build  a  house  out  of 
those  old  rocks.  We  must  have  smooth,  square  rocks  and  mortar  to 
hold  them  together."  But  the  boy  who  suggested  it  was  sure  it  could 
be  done  if  they'd  try.  One  of  the  other  boys  said,  "Come  on,  let's  not 
build  a  house  at  all.  Even  if  we  could  build  it  the  water  would  come 
in  and  spoil  it."  But  the  first  boy  stood  firm,  and  showed  the  rest  of 
the  children  how  they  could  hold  the  stones  together  with  mud;  how  the 
water  would  only  come  half-way  up  to  the  place  where  they  were  to 
build,  and  finally  he  got  everyone  so  enthusiastic  that  they  all  went  to 
work  to  make  his  dream  come  true. 

It  wasn't  as  easy  as  it  sounded,  though,  and  when  they  came  to 
make  the  arches  for  the  windows  many  of  the  children  got  discouraged. 
For  the  arches  kept  falling  down  as  fast  as  they  were  built.    But  the 

84 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  85 

boy  who  had  planned  the  house  kept  right  on  working,  and  everyone 
else  did  his  little  bit,  carrying  stones  or  scraping  up  mud;  and  at  last 
there  on  the  beach  stood  a  fine  little  stone  house,  that  the  boy  had  seen 
on  the  beach  in  the  first  place  when  no  one  else  had  been  able  to. 

Everywhere  we  go  are  similar  things  which  some  of  us  see  and 
some  of  us  do  not  see.  In  the  great  city  of  New  York  stands  the 
majestic  cathedral  of  Saint  John  the  Divine.  It  has  a  strange  appear- 
ance now  because  it  is  unfinished.  Probably  very  few  people  have  any 
idea  just  what  it  will  look  like  when  it  is  finished,  but  there  are  some 
people  who  know.  And  we  know  that  many  years  ago  a  man  must  have 
stood  looking  intently  at  the  spot  of  bare  ground  on  Morningside 
Heights  where  the  cathedral  now  stands,  just  as  the  boy  stood  on  the 
beach,  and  that  this  man  must  have  seen  a  magnificent  cathedral  stand- 
ing there,  where  everyone  else  saw  only  rocks  and  grass  and  dirt.  And 
then  that  man  must  have  made  other  people  see  in  their  minds  his 
beautiful  cathedral,  just  as  the  boy  made  the  other  children  see  his 
stone  house,  until  people  became  so  enthusiastic  over  the  architect's 
plan  that  they  began  to  build  it.  But  probably  many  people  said: 
''Let's  not  build  such  a  big  building;  it's  too  much  work."  Or  even,  "It 
can't  be  done!"  But  others  saw  what  the  architect  saw,  and  to-day 
his  dream  is  coming  true  in  stone  and  mortar. 

Now  we  too  are  busy  building  a  house,  the  House  of  Justice.  And 
we  have  begun  work  on  it  because  many  years  ago  there  was  a  man 
who  came  into  this  world  of  ours  and  saw  the  possibility  of  building  a 
House  of  Justice  in  the  hearts  of  boys  and  girls  and  men  and  women 
everywhere.  That  man  was  Jesus.  Even  in  the  most  unjust  and  unfair 
people  he  saw  materials  which  he  could  use  in  building  the  great  House 
of  Justice  which  we  are  now  helping  to  build  each  day.  Just  as  in  the 
case  of  the  man  who  saw  the  great  cathedral  before  it  was  actually 
started,  there  were  other  people  who  did  not  believe  a  House  of  Justice 
could  be  built,  and  so  there  are  to-day.  But  in  spite  of  them,  we  have 
begun  the  work,  and  we  must  not  leave  it  partly  done,  the  way  the 
cathedral  is  to-day,  for  we  want  the  House  of  Justice  to  be  finished. 
To  finish  it  every  single  one  of  us  must  do  his  or  her  part,  for  it  is  a 
huge  task,  far  larger  than  building  a  house  of  stone.  To  know  how  to 
build  it  we  must  see  what  Jesus  planned  it  to  be.    Until  we  do  see,  we 


86  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

shall  be  building  aimlessly,  and  the  House  of  Justice  will  not  stand.  So 
we  look  to  Jesus  our  Master,  and  pray  that  we  may  see  his  vision,  and 
help  complete  the  House  of  Justice  in  his  Name. 

PRAYER 

O  God  our  Father,  how  often  we  go  about  this  world  which  Thou 
hast  made  for  our  happiness  with  our  eyes  closed  to  what  it  might  be! 
We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  men  and  women  in  the  past  who  have  seen 
the  beautiful,  the  good,  the  true,  where  we  have  been  blind,  and  who 
have  made  us  see  them  too.  May  we  be  quicker  to  perceive  in  all  the 
corners  of  our  daily  life  that  which  can  be  made  beautiful  and  sweet 
and  wholesome  for  others,  and  to  do  all  that  we  can  to  make  such 
dreams  come  true. 

We  thank  Thee  for  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who 
is  ever  showing  us  so  many  visions  of  the  good.  From  him  we  have 
learned  how  to  build  a  House  of  Friendship  in  our  hearts  for  all  Thy 
children,  and  now  we  are  trying  to  see,  as  he  saw,  what  this  world 
might  be  if  all  of  us  were  just,  if  our  House  of  Justice  were  finished  as 
he  saw  it  should  be  one  day.  Give  us,  O  Father,  faith  to  complete  it, 
and  trust  in  the  cooperation  and  help  of  others,  until  its  shining  towers 
rise  in  the  brightness  of  Thy  eternal  city.  This  we  ask  in  his  name. 
Amen. 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS   AND    PARENTS 

FOR   USE   IN    CLASS   OR    HOME 

First  use  some  of  the  general  questions  on  p.  ii.  Then  some  of  the  follow- 
ing: 

1.  Did  you  ever  imagine  a  house  or  something,  the  way  the  little  boy  did  in 

the  story (the  leader)  told  this  morning,  and  then  go  to  work  to  make  it? 

It's  fine  to  plan  things  and  then  to  do  them.  It's  a  sort  of  game  to  plan  as  many 
things  as  possible  that  are  worth  doing  and  then  see  how  many  we  can  do.  We 
have  some  plans  to  make  to-day  (take  up  some  class  enterprise  that  is  pending). 
Let's  plan  this  so  well  that  it  will  be  worth  a  place  in  our  House  of  Justice. 

2.  They  say  that  if  we  wish  hard  enough  for  anything,  we  will  get  it.  Is 
that  true?  Is  it  partly  true?  Does  it  make  any  difference  what  we  wish  for? 
Which  is  more  important  for  success,  to  wish  hard  or  to  wish  right?  Do  you 
recall  some  things  that  Jesus  said  about  wishing?     (JNlatt.  5:2iff;  7:7-11.) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  87 

3.  Can  a  man  change  his  desires?  Can  a  man  get  along  without  any  desires, 
without  wishing  for  anything?  (Cf.  Matt.  7:7-ii-)  In  the  long  run,  it's  the 
people  who  hunt  who  find.  Do  you  think  there  is  a  purpose  in  the  world?  If 
God  is  the  great  creative  goodwill  that  runs  through  all  history,  how  about  getting 
our  desires  into  harmony  with  this  purpose?  Would  it  make  any  difference  to 
our  prayers  if  we  knew  our  purpose  was  God's  purpose  and  our  desire  His? 


20 

Finding  Happiness 

Scripture:     Matt.  6:24-34. 
Psalm:     27. 

Hymns:  "Fight  the  good  fight;"  "Father,  hear  the  prayer  we  offer;"  "Soldiers 
of  Christ,  arise." 

One  day  a  little  boy  in  a  very  big  city  came  home  from  school  feel- 
ing very  sad  and  blue.  Nothing  had  gone  right  that  day.  It  didn't 
seem  to  make  any  difference  what  he  did,  everything  went  wrong.  Now 
as  he  sat  down  on  his  doorstep  he  began  to  wonder  how  he  could  be 
perfectly  happy.    And  this  is  what  he  thought: 

''The  only  way  for  me  to  be  perfectly  happy  is  to  keep  out  of 
trouble,  to  take  no  chances,  not  to  do  a  single  thing  that  might  hurt  me, 
trust  nothing  that  has  ever  harmed  me,  for  it  might  again ;  then  I  shall 
be  perfectly  happy." 

Then  he  began  to  think  over  his  troubles,  to  feel  of  all  the  bumps 
and  bruises  he  had  suffered.  Just  as  he  was  rubbing  his  sore  leg,  a 
boy  friend  of  Ronald's  came  by  on  a  pushmobile.  ''Come  on,"  he  cried, 
"get  yours  and  we'll  have  a  race."  But  Ronald  remembered  how  a 
screw  on  his  pushmobile  which  he  had  forgotten  to  fix  had  worked  loose 
and  thrown  him  off  the  day  before,  so  he  decided  he  couldn't  trust  it 
any  longer.  "No,  thanks,  not  to-day,"  he  told  the  boy,  and  stayed 
sitting  on  his  doorstep. 

A  few  minutes  later  a  baseball  came  rolling  by  Ronald's  feet;  and 
the  boy  who  was  chasing  it  saw  Ronald,  and  said:  "Come  on  over  to 
the  playground.  We  play  the  Mohawks  to-day  and  we  want  you  to 
play."  But  Ronald  remembered  that  the  last  time  they  had  played  the 
Mohawks  one  of  the  bigger  fellows  on  that  team  had  slid  into  him,  so 
he  decided  that  if  he  was  to  be  perfectly  happy  he  couldn't  take  such 
chances  again.    So  he  said:    "No,"  and  stayed  on  the  doorstep. 

Now  things  were  pretty  dull  on  the  doorstep,  especially  when  he 

88 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  89 

saw  some  boys  and  girls  roller-skating  down  near  the  corner,  where  he 
usually  skated.  But  he  thought  of  the  day  his  skate  slipped  and  he 
fell  and  bruised  his  leg,  so  there  couldn't  be  any  roller-skating  for  him 
if  he  was  to  be  perfectly  happy. 

"Come  on,  Ronald,  let's  go  swimming,"  a  friend  of  his  called  from 
across  the  street.  But  the  last  time  Ronald  had  been  in  the  swimming 
pool  that  very  boy  had  ducked  him  when  he  wasn't  looking,  so  he  con- 
cluded that  he  couldn't  trust  him,  and  stayed  sitting  on  the  doorstep. 

By  this  time  Ronald  was  thinking  hard,  trying  to  find  something  he 
could  do  and  still  not  run  the  risk  of  being  unhappy,  without  taking 
chances  of  being  hurt  or  lame  or  even  tired. 

As  quick  as  he  would  think  of  something  to  do  to  amuse  himself  he 
would  remember  something  unpleasant  connected  with  it  that  he  didn't 
want  to  have  repeated.  Even  the  weather  seemed  to  be  against  him, 
for  the  sky  was  getting  cloudy  and  it  looked  as  though  he  couldn't  even 
sit  on  the  doorstep  much  longer.  He  didn't  dare  go  out  walking  in  the 
park,  for  fear  he  might  meet  someone  who  would  tease  him.  He  didn't 
even  want  to  go  into  the  house  to  Mother,  for  he  remembered  that  he 
had  refused  angrily  to  do  something  for  her  that  morning,  and  he  was 
sure  that  he  would  not  be  happy  if  she  should  remind  him  of  it. 

So  Ronald  sat  there  on  the  doorstep  for  quite  a  long  time.  After 
a  while  he  began  to  wonder  whether  he  had  found  the  right  way  to  be 
perfectly  happy  or  not.  Certainly  he  couldn't  be  perfectly  happy  sit- 
ting on  the  doorstep  all  the  time.  You  see  Ronald  had  lost  something; 
and  I  wonder  if  you  know  what  it  was?  Why,  it  was  his  faith.  He 
hadn't  any  faith  in  his  pushmobile,  he  was  afraid  it  would  break  down 
again;  he  hadn't  any  faith  in  his  playmates,  for  he  was  afraid  they 
would  play  unfairly;  he  hadn't  any  faith  in  his  roller-skates;  nor  the 
weather;  nor  even  in  his  mother  whom  he  dearly  loved.  You  see  he  had 
lost  his  faith  in  the  world,  and  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  so  he  had 
really  lost  his  faith  in  God,  our  Father,  who  made  them  for  him  to  en- 
joy and  to  help.  He  had  lost  his  faith  in  himself;  he  was  afraid  to  try 
to  enjoy  himself,  so  he  sat  and  moped  on  the  doorstep  and  found  that 
he  was  more  unhappy  than  ever. 

Suddenly  Ronald  jumped  up  and  ran  off  over  to  the  playground, 
just  in  time  to  get  into  the  baseball  game.  He  wasn't  afraid  any  longer; 


!)()  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

when  a  hard  ball  came  he  didn't  dodge  and  let  it  go,  he  stood  up  and 
caught  it,  although  it  did  sting.  And  when  he  came  home  to  his  mother 
that  night,  the  mother  whose  forgiveness  he  asked,  and  whom  he  now 
trusted,  he  was  hot  and  dusty  and  tired  and  bruised,  but  perfectly 
happy.  He  had  played  the  game,  taken  the  hard  knocks,  found  his 
faith,  and  his  perfect  happiness. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO    HELP    MAKE    THE    MOST    OF    THE    SERVICE 

Use  first  one  or  two  general  questions  from  p.  ii.  Then  continue  with  such 
questions  as  the  following : 

1.  Do  you  remember  any  of  the  first  hymn  we  sang  ("Fight  the  good  fight")  ? 
Are  you  likely  to  get  hurt  if  you  fight  the  good  fight?  If  folks  all  stopped  fighting 
the  good  fight  because  they  might  get  hurt,  what  would  happen?  What  did  Ronald 
find  out  about  getting  hurt?  What  did  Jesus  say  about  it  in  the  scripture  lesson? 
(jNIatt.   6:34a.) 

2.  Is  it  easy  to  be  a  Christian?  Why  should  we  try  to  be?  Is  it  worth  while? 
The  writers  of  the  hymns  we  sang  this  morning  seemed  to  think  it  was  worth  while. 
Ronald  found  that  one  couldn't 'ever  be  happy  without  taking  risks.  In  fact,  he 
found  out  that  a  boy  could  be  hurt  and  be  happy  too.  Does  this  suggest  another 
rule  for  our  city  ordinances? 

3.  Is  there  any  relation  between  justice  and  happiness?  How  did  Jesus 
describe  the  conditions  of  happiness?     (The  Beatitudes.) 


21 

The  Boy  Who  Found  Out  * 

Scripture:     Genesis   1:20-28. 
Psalm:    8. 

Hymns:  "We  thank  Thee,  O  our  Father ;"  "There's  a  wideness  in  God's 
mercy;"  "We've  a  story  to  tell  to  the  nations." 

There  was  once  a  Boy  who  had  a  great  many  pets.  He  lived  in  a 
large  house,  and  whenever  he  wanted  an  animal  to  play  with,  his 
parents  would  buy  it  for  him.  He  had  Don,  a  Shetland  pony;  Rover,  a 
big,  shaggy  collie;  Bump  and  Jump,  two  snow-white  rabbits;  Rastus,  a 
coal-black  cat,  and  little  Tweet,  a  canary  bird.  This  boy  also  had  a 
House  of  Justice,  but  it  was  not  a  very  large  one.  Of  course  there  were 
in  it  his  parents  and  teachers  and  school  friends,  but  he  had  never 
thought  of  including  his  many  pets.  For  you  see  the  Boy  had  the  idea 
that  animals  were  just  for  him  to  play  with,  like  tops;  and  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  he  was  not  always  kind  to  them. 

He  was  very  fond  of  riding  Don,  the  pony,  and  he  loved  to  romp 
with  Rover.  He  thought  it  was  endless  fun  to  see  his  rabbits  eat  and  to 
poke  their  funny  noses.  Then  old  Rastus  purred  so  delightfully  when 
you  stroked  him  the  right  way,  and  Tweet,  the  canary  bird,  would  sing 
all  day  long  the  sweetest  of  bird  melodies. 

Although  the  Boy  enjoyed  his  pets  so  much,  he  would  order  them 
about,  making  them  always  do  just  what  he  pleased,  and  never  consid- 
ering their  comfort  at  all.  He  treated  them  just  as  if  they  were  stuffed 
animals  and  not  real,  live,  affectionate  pets. 

He  hked  to  go  to  the  barn  where  most  of  his  pets  lived  and  imagine 
that  he  was  King  of  the  Animals.  Couldn't  he  boss  them  all?  If  he 
whipped  the  pony,  it  would  run  and  run  until  it  was  all  tired  out.  If 
he  made  believe  throw  sticks  for  Rover,  the  dog  would  chase  and  chase 
just  as  if  the  sticks  were  real.    And  the  bunnies  never  complained,  no 

*  Reprinted   from   Everyland,  August,   1919. 

91 


92  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 

matter  how  roughly  they  were  handled  and  chased  and  scared.  And 
Rastus,  good  old  cat,  what  a  lot  he  did  stand  for !  Tail  pulling,  chasing, 
sticks  and  stones,  even  though  all  in  play,  were  not  very  pleasant  to  a 
self-respecting  old  tabby!  Tweet,  the  canary,  fluttered  and  jumped 
when  the  Boy  swung  the  cage  around,  but  he  sang  just  the  same. 

Now  it  was  not  surprising  that  one  afternoon  the  Boy's  pets  gath- 
ered together  in  the  barn  to  talk  things  over.  Even  Tweet,  the  canary 
bird,  had  found  a  loose  bar  in  her  cage  and  had  flown  out  just  in  time 
to  attend  the  meeting.  On  all  sides  it  was  the  same  story.  No  doubt 
the  Boy  was  a  good  boy  at  heart,  but  his  House  of  Justice  was  closed 
against  the  animals  who  did  so  much  to  make  his  life  happy.  What 
were  they  to  do  to  gain  admittance? 

First  up  spoke  old  Don,  the  pony:  ''I  think,"  said  he,  "that  we  all 
ought  to  stop  doing  things  for  the  Boy.  Rover,  you  forget  how  to  play 
and  to  chase  imaginary  sticks  the  next  time  he  wants  you  to;  and  Bump 
and  Jump,  pretend  you  are  sick  and  do  not  let  him  pet  you;  Rastus,  you 
hide  when  the  boy  comes  to  torment  you;  and  you.  Tweet,  just  forget 
how  to  sing  for  a  while.  As  for  myself,  I  shall  go  where  I  please  instead 
of  minding  the  reins  or  the  cruel  whip.  In  that  way  we  shall  show  the 
Boy  how  much  our  lives  and  happiness  mean  to  his  own  pleasure,  and 
he  will  have  to  win  back  our  friendship." 

''No,"  said  Rover,  "that  is  not  what  we  are  after,  Don.  We  do  not 
want  to  buy  the  Boy's  friendship  with  what  we  do  for  him.  He  does 
not  seem  to  appreciate  that  while  we  love  to  give  him  pleasure,  we  have 
some  rights  of  our  pwn.  Of  course  we  intend  that  he  shall  take  us  into 
his  House  of  Justice,  but  we  would  rather  not  force  our  way  in  by 
making  him  unhappy." 

After  they  had  talked  the  matter  over  carefully,  the  animals  took  a 
vote  and  decided  that  they  ought  to  have  a  conference  with  the  Boy, 
and  tell  him  the  way  they  felt. 

Now  it  happened  that  all  the  time  they  were  talking,  the  Boy  lay 
up  in  the  hay-loft,  where  he  had  gone  to  read  a  book.  He  had  listened 
closely  while  they  were  talking  about  him  and  had  swallowed  hard  at 
times.  Just  as  they  had  finished,  he  slid  right  down  among  them  and 
cried:    "You  don't  need  to  have  a  conference.    I  heard  every  word  you 


THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE  93 

said.    You  were  right,  Rover.    I  didn't  really  understand.    But  I  do 
now,  and  you  won't  have  to  stop  playing  with  me  at  all." 

And  then  he  hugged  every  one  of  those  pets  of  his  in  turn,  for  they 
had  won  their  way  into  his  House  of  Justice,  to  stay  there  always. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   HELP   MAKE   THE   MOST  OF  THE   SERVICE 

It  IS  well  to  precede  the  following  questions  with  some  of  a  general  character, 
as  on  p.  II. 

1.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  S.P.C.A. ?  What  is  it  for?  Do  animals  need  to 
be  protected?  Why?  Then  animals  belong  in  our  House  of  Justice,  don't  they? 
Do  you  know  of  any  animals  that  aren't  getting  a  square  deal?  What  could  we  do 
about  it? 

2.  Well,  I  guess  we  still  need  another  ordinance  in  Section  II.  What  shall 
it  be?  Are  these  ordinances  of  Justice  in  such  shape  that  we  could  read  them 
to  the  whole  school  next  Sunday?     What  scripture  could  we  read  with  them? 

3.  The  older  members  might  well  be  responsible  for  the  following  Sunday's 
service,  using  the  material  provided  by  the  next  younger  group  as  suggested  just 
above,  and  preparing  to  lead  the  service. 


94  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUSTICE 


Concluding  the  House  of  Justice 

As  suggested  after  the  last  service,  there  might  well  be  a  concluding 
service,  prepared  by  the  pupils  themselves,  using  material  they  have 
selected  or  originated  and  serving  as  a  summary  of  the  whole  period. 


PART  III 
THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE* 

JUST   BEFORE   EASTER   TO    VACATION 

Call  to  Worship:     "Grace  be  unto  you  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father 
and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

ORDERS  OF  SERVICE 

FROM    WHICH    ONE    OR    MORE    MAY    BE    SELECTED    FOR    THIS    PERIOD 


Without  Choir 


With  Choir 


1.  Call  to  Worship 

2.  Psalm 

3.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

4.  Scripture  Lesson 

5.  Story  or  Talk 

6.  Prayer 

7.  Hymn 

The  Amen  followed  by  a 
soft  chords,  indicating 

8.  Silence 

9.  A  Unison  Prayer 
10.  Hymn 


1.  Call  to  Worship 

2.  Hymn 

3.  Greeting 

4.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

5.  Scripture  Lesson 

6.  Story   or   Talk    (Prayer) 

7.  Hymn 

few       8.  Choir  Sentence 

9.  Silence 

10.  Unison  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 

11.  Hymn 

12.  Benediction,  Choir  Amen 

13.  Instrumental  Postlude 


1.  Instrumental  Prelude 

2.  Call  to  Worship 

3.  A  Doxology  or  one  stanza  of  a 

hymn  of  praise 

4.  The  Lord's  Prayer 

5.  Psalm 

6.  Hymn 

7.  Story  or  Talk 

8.  Prayer 

9.  Response  by  the  School 

10.  Offertory  Sentence 

11.  Offering  Received 

12.  Offertory  Prayer 

13.  Hymn 

♦Corresponding  to  a  portion  of  the  period  of  Faith,  and  the  period  of  Loy- 
alty, as  described  in  the  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship. 

95 


1.  Processional  Hymn 

2.  Psalm 

3.  Unison  Prayer,  Choir  Amen 
Story  or  Talk 
Choir  Sentence 
Silence 

Leader's  Prayer 
Hymn 

The  Lord's  Prayer 
Benediction 
Recessional   Hymn 


4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
II. 


22 

The  House  of  Peace 

Scripture:    Isaiah  9:2,  4-7;  51:9,  11-13,  15,  16;  52:1,  7,  10. 
Psalm:     46. 

Hymns:  "City  of  God;"  "Our  fathers  built  this  city;"  "We've  a  story  to  tell 
to  the  nations." 

We  have  been  building  and  making  things  ever  since  we  can  remem- 
ber: houses,  dolls'  clothing,  boxes,  collections,  bandages,  sweaters, 
electrical  devices.  The  older  we  get,  the  more  difficult  are  the  things 
we  build,  and  we  all  look  forward  to  the  time  when  we  shall  be 
engineers,  building  bridges  and  skyscrapers;  or  doctors,  building 
healthy  bodies;  or  statesmen,  building  governments  and  laws.  All  our 
lives  we  shall  be  building  and  making  all  sorts  of  different  things. 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  we  shall  all  build  together.  It  is 
bigger  than  all  these  other  things.  It  includes  them  all.  We  shall  all 
be  helping  to  build — the  world. 

During  the  war  and  just  after  it  we  stopped  building  the  world. 
Indeed,  a  good  deal  of  what  had  been  already  built  was  destroyed. 
Some  of  the  parts  that  were  destroyed  had  been  wrongly  built,  and  now 
we  are  all  trying  to  make  these  parts  right.  They  may  be  very  differ- 
ent from  what  they  were  before. 

But  it  would  be  foolish  to  go  on  building  without  knowing  what  we 
were  trying  to  make,  wouldn't  it?  Ever  since  you  can  remember, 
when  you  started  out  to  build  with  your  blocks  or  your  tools,  you  have 
known  what  you  were  going  to  make.  So  we  must  try  to  understand 
what  sort  of  a  world  we  want  to  build,  and  how  it  can  be  put  together 
so  that  people  will  not  be  in  want  nor  have  to  go  to  war,  but  can  live 
peaceably  together,  working  for  the  good  of  all. 

This  is  what  we  are  here  in  school  for — to  try  to  find  out  what  sort 
of  a  world  we  want  to  build.  Every  class  will  be  thinking  about  it  from 
the  youngest  to  the  oldest.  It  is  the  most  important  thing  we  have  to 
discuss.    It  is  what  all  the  world  is  talking  and  thinking  about.    And 

96 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  97 

we  are  to  be  the  builders,  working  under  the  direction  of  God,  the 
master  builder,  for  it  is  His  world  we  are  helping  to  build.  "We  seek  a 
city  that  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."  And  we 
call  the  world  we  are  building  "The  City  of  God." 

It  will  take  a  long  time  to  finish  it.  We  can  hope  to  do  only  a  little. 
Last  fall  we  started  the  House  of  Friendship  in  the  City  of  God: 
Christians  are  friends.  Then  we  started  the  House  of  Justice:  Chris- 
tians are  fair.  Now  we  must  begin  the  House  of  Peace,  so  that  men 
and  nations  may  be  able  to  work  happily  together  for  the  common 
good. 

Let  us  ask  God  to  give  us  strength  and  wisdom  for  our  work,  and 
we  know  He  will ;  and  He  will  hold  us  responsible  for  what  we  build. 

PRAYER 

We  are  very  glad,  our  Father,  to  be  here,  all  together  again.  It 
means  so  much  to  us  to  feel  that  our  friends  are  thinking  of  Thee  right 
now,  while  each  one  of  us  is  thinking  of  Thee.  Thou  art  so  wonderful, 
O  God,  so  far  beyond  all  that  we  can  imagine  of  goodness  and  of  wis- 
dom, and  yet  so  very  near  to  us  that  even  in  our  inmost  thoughts  we 
can  speak  with  Thee. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  new  friends  that  come  to  us  week  by  week. 
Help  us  to  make  them  all  feel  at  home  with  us.  And  may  we  all,  now 
at  the  beginning  of  this  new  week,  resolve  to  do  our  best  to  learn  what 
Thou  dost  desire  of  us,  and  to  obey  Thy  will. 

For  all  Thy  children  who  have  passed  through  the  gates  of  death 
this  week,  we  ask  the  opportunity  of  larger  and  happier  service.  For 
all  who  have  parted  with  those  they  love,  we  ask  the  consolation  of 
continued  fellowship  with  them  and  with  Thee.  For  all  who  are  sick  or 
suffering  we  ask  strength  and  patience  and  hope.  And  may  peace  come 
to  the  whole  world,  that  the  nations  may  be  healed. 

And  this  we  ask  in  Jesus'  name.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS   AND    PARENTS 

TO   USE   IN    GUIDING   DISCUSSION   OF   THE   WORSHIP 

See  note  on  p.  20  and  also  general  questions  on  p.  11. 

I.  We  are  starting  to  build  another  house  to-day  in  the  City  of  God.  What 
did  (the  leader)  call  it?    Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  before  that  you  were 


98  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

helping  to  build  the  world?     What  part  of  the  world  are  you  helping  to  build? 

2.  Do  you  think  we  could  build  a  House  of  Peace  without  first  learning  to 
build  a  House  of  Friendship  and  a  House  of  Justice?  What  are  the  conditions 
of  peace?  If  we  can  succeed  in  getting  these  defined  we  will  have  Section  HI  of 
the  Ordinances  of  the  City  of  God. 

3.  Do  you  think  the  House  of  Peace  belongs  in  the  City  of  God?  Cf.  Rom. 
12:  18-21.  Why  do  men  fight?  In  what  ways  do  they  fight  besides  by  war?  W^hat 
are  the  effects  upon  the  common  good?    Who  suffers? 


23 

Trust  in  God 

Scripture:     Matthew  5:43,  44,  9,  n,  12.    John  14:1,  27. 
Psalm:     27. 

Hymns:  "We  march,  we  march  to  victory;"  "Not  alone  for  mighty  empire;" 
"God  is  my  strong  salvation." 

If  we  could  put  into  seven  words  what  Jesus  said  in  the  passages 
just  read,  they  would  read  something  like  this:  Do  what's  right  and 
take  the  consequences.  But  along  with  this  we  should  have  to  put 
three  more  words  if  we  are  to  understand  how  he  could  say  this  and 
really  mean  it,  and  these  words  are:    Trust  in  God. 

If  we  are  going  to  trust  God  at  all  we  must  trust  him  where  He  is 
and  in  what  He  is  doing.  Where  is  God?  He  is  in  our  hearts — we  all 
know  that — and  if  in  our  hearts,  then  in  the  hearts  of  others,  the  hearts 
of  our  neighbors  on  the  street  where  we  live,  of  our  friends  whom  we 
see  every  day  in  school,  of  folks  whom  we  don't  like  a  bit  and  who  we 
think  are  trying  to  take  advantage  of  us.  But  if  we  can't  trust  our 
friends  and  neighbors  and  enemies,  how  can  we  trust  God? 

"That's  all  very  well,"  some  of  you  may  say,  "but  how  can  we  trust 
someone  who  is  mean  and  underhanded  and  brutal?  Jesus  might  say 
in  answer  to  this  question:  You  trust  him  not  because  of,  but  in  spite 
of  his  meanness — because  of  what  he  might  do  if  you  should  trust  him. 
When  Peter  asked  Jesus,  "How  many  times  shall  I  forgive  my  brother; 
seven?"  Jesus  replied,  "Nay,  seventy  times  seven":  keep  on  forgiving 
him  forever,  believing  that  ultimately  the  best  in  you  will  call  out  the 
best  in  him.  That's  what  the  old  bishop  did  to  Jean  val  Jean,  you  re- 
member. He  just  kept  on  believing  in  him,  no  matter  what  he  did,  till 
Jean  val  Jean  just  could  not  help  becoming  what  the  priest  believed  he 
could  become. 

That's  the  way  God  works.  "He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust."    "Be  sons 

99 


100  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

of  the  Most  High;  for  he  is  kind  toward  the  unthankful  and  evil."    If 
we  can't  trust  the  way  God  works,  how  can  we  trust  Him? 

I  have  in  my  hand  a  piece  of  money.  Near  the  edge  of  it  I  read 
these  words:  "In  God  we  trust."  Ours  is  not  the  only  country  that 
says  this.  Most  nations  put  their  trust  in  God.  Can  they  all  be 
right?  Can  they  all  equally  deserve  God's  help?  How  can  they  all 
trust  God?  On  the  meaning  of  these  few  words  hangs  the  destiny  of 
the  world.  If  they  mean:  We  trust  in  God,  we  nations,  to  win  us  our 
victories — then  we  have  before  us  nothing  but  war  and  destruction 
forever.  If  they  mean:  We  put  our  trust  in  our  fellow  men  and  fellow 
nations,  believing  that  the  best  in  us  will  call  out  the  best  in  them;  that 
we  put  our  trust  not  in  our  own  might  but  in  the  spirit  of  God  in  the 
hearts  of  all  men — then  there  lies  before  the  world  the  hope  of  ever- 
lasting peace. 

PRAYER  * 

O  Thou  who  art  the  confidence  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  we 
thank  Thee  for  the  power  of  faith  by  which  Thou  art  transforming 
the  world.  Forgive  us  our  mistrust.  Forgive  us  if  we  have  prevented 
anyone  from  being  all  he  should  be  because  we  failed  to  trust  him 
enough.  Thou  dost  trust  us  in  spite  of  our  failures;  and  we  know  that 
we  could  not  be  half  what  we  are  if  it  were  not  that  our  fathers  and 
mothers  and  friends  believe  in  us  and  expect  us  to  do  our  best. 

Help  us  to  have  faith  in  every  one  of  Thy  children,  just  as  we  want 
them  to  have  faith  in  us.  And  so,  by  the  power  of  the  faith  that  Jesus 
had  in  his  disciples,  by  the  power  of  the  faith  that  Thou  dost  have  in 
Thy  wayward  and  quarreling  children,  by  the  power  of  the  faith  we 
have  in  one  another,  may  the  days  of  peace  and  goodwill  be  established 
in  the  earth. 

We  ask  it  in  the  name  of  him  who  trusted  even  those  who  slew  him. 
Amen. 

*  From  the  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,  p.  loi.  Copyright,  1915,  by 
Charles   Scribner's   Sons. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  101 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

LEADING   TO   THE  USE   OF  THE  EFFECTS  OF  THE   SERVICE 

Use  first  general  questions  as  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Are  you  ever  afraid?  What  did  Jesus  say  about  being  afraid?  And  the 
Psahn  we  used  together?  Would  you  like  to  say  the  Twenty-seventh  Psalm  again? 
Let's  pick  out  just  one  or  two  lines — the  best  ones — to  use  when  we  are  afraid. 
When  we  are  not  afraid  then  we  have  peace  in  our  hearts,  haven't  we? 

2.  You  have  read  stories  of  the  Indian  wars  when  the  early  settlers  were  in 
constant  fear  of  their  lives  and  the  lives  of  their  families.  They  seem  a  long  way 
ofif  and  unreal  now.  But  there  are  still  thousands  of  people  whose  hearts  are 
never  free  from  the  grip  of  fear.  Do  you  know  of  such  people?  (The  Armenians. 
The  Koreans.  Those  below  the  poverty  line  who  fear  for  their  children.  Many 
sick  and  dying.  Superstitious  people.)  Will  the  Building  of  a  House  of  Peace 
have  any  effect  on  fear  in  the  world? 

3.  Can  you  describe  the  state  of  mind  of  primitive  man?  How  does  it  com- 
pare with  the  attitude  of  a  Christian  toward  the  world?  Has  fear  anything  to  do 
with  war?  Compare  what  happens  when  men  carry  weapons,  in  contrast  with 
the  Canadian-American  border.  How  about  big  navies?  Can  we  have  fear  in  a 
House  of  Peace? 


24 

Easter 

Scripture:     Luke  13:22-24;  Matt.  7:13-14;  John   11:25,  26;   14:1-63. 

Psalm:     65. 

Hymns:  "Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day;"  "The  snow  has  vanished  from  the 
hills"  (or  some  equivalent  spring  song);  "Rejoice,  ye  pure  in  heart;"  "Ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand." 

Easter  is  the  Festival  of  the  Joy  of  Life.  Jesus  came  that  men 
might  have  Hfe  and  have  it  more  abundantly. 

It  is  always  beautiful  when  Easter  is  late,  for  then  the  spring  helps 
to  celebrate  it.  The  grass  is  covering  the  earth  with  its  green  carpet. 
The  leaves  are  turning  the  gray  trees  yellow.  The  crocuses  and  hya- 
cinths are  sprinkling  their  bright  spots  of  color  over  lawns  and  gardens. 

"For  lo,  the  winter  is  past, 
The  rain  is  over  and  gone, 
The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth. 
The  time  of  the  singing  of  hirds  is  come." 

Outside  my  window  every  morning  a  robin  sings.  He  comes  early 
and  he  wakes  me  up.  But  what  a  wonderful  song  it  is,  after  the  silent 
winter!  He  seems  so  full  of  joy  that  he  can't  keep  quiet,  but  must 
sing  his  little  song  over  and  over  again  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  We  feel 
that  way,  too,  and  so  we  sing  our  spring  song,  praising  God  for  the  gift 
of  life.    Easter  is  the  Festival  of  the  Joy  of  Life. 

Jesus  felt  this  joy  of  life.  His  magnificent  vitality  and  the  radiant 
power  of  his  personality  spread  health  and  goodwill  around  him  wher- 
ever he  went.  When  he  touched  men,  he  healed  them.  When  he 
looked  at  men,  they  left  all  and  followed  him.  When  he  spoke,  his 
were  words  of  eternal  life  and  changed  the  whole  course  and  tenor  of 
men's  lives.  He  possessed  life,  he  mastered  it;  his  grip  on  life  made 
men  free,  for  he  broke  through  the  bonds  that  held  captive  their  imagi- 

102 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  103 

nations  and  cried:  "The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  besieged  and  men  take 
it  by  storm."  And  so  he  conquered  death  and  banished  forever  the 
fear  of  death  from  the  hearts  of  men.  Easter,  the  Festival  of  the  Joy  of 
Life,  is  also  the  Festival  of  Death,  and  we  to-day  celebrate  death  not 
as  a  sad  ending,  but  as  a  glorious  beginning  of  life. 

There  is  another  room  in  the  house  of  God.  Now  and  then  the  door 
swings  open  and  someone  whom  we  love  slips  through.  We  think  of 
their  going  as  we  do  of  taking  a  long  journey  to  some  far  country  to 
which  we  long  to  go.  It  used  to  be  the  magic  carpet  of  our  imagina- 
tions that  transported  us  to  the  wonderful  cities  of  our  dreams.  But 
now  it  is  the  real  places  we  want  to  see  and  we  all  look  forward  to  visit- 
ing the  far  distant  lands  of  the  earth  to  see  the  people  and  to  talk  with 
them,  to  learn  how  they  live  and  to  look  at  all  the  things  that  they  have 
made.  So  we  think  of  the  door,  which  we  call  death,  that  opens  into  the 
other  room  of  the  house  of  God. 

But  there  is  one  thing  more  that  we  must  remember  if  we  would 
enter.  The  gate  is  big  and  the  way  is  broad  that  leads  to  destruction, 
but  small  is  the  gate  and  narrow  the  way  that  leads  to  life,  and  few  are 
they  who  find  it. 

Jesus'  disciples  once  asked  him  to  show  them  this  gate  and  this  way 
that  leads  to  life,  and  he  replied:  ''I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life. 
He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  die  yet  shall  he  live,  and  he  that 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 

PRAYER 

O  Lord  God,  who  art  the  source  of  all  that  is  good  and  true,  we 
thank  Thee  for  life  and  joy  and  hope.  Thou  hast  shared  with  us  Thy 
life  and  we  know  the  joy  of  it,  the  pain  of  it,  the  glory  of  it.  We  know 
that  the  life  Thou  hast  given  us  will  not  end,  but  that  through  the  gates 
of  death  we  may  all  pass  if  we  will  into  the  City  of  God. 

We  remember  to-day  the  unnumbered  host  of  youth,  who,  having 
fought  the  good  fight  and  finished  their  course,  have  passed  through  the 
door  into  the  other  room  during  the  terrible  years  of  war.  We  remem- 
ber the  fatherless  and  the  motherless  children  who  have  died  while  the 
men  fought.    We  remember  the  aged,  grown  old  in  toil  and  suffering, 


104  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

who  have  lost  all  they  ever  had  or  loved  and  for  whom  life  is  a  burden 
too  great  to  be  borne. 

IMay  those  who  go  before  us  find  the  fulfilment  of  their  desires  in 
the  freedom  and  joy  of  unlimited  life,  and  may  all  of  us  who  remain 
behind  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto 
Jesus,  the  author  and  perfecter  of  our  faith. 

Shame  upon  us,  O  God,  that  there  should  be  any  of  Thy  children  to 
whom  has  never  been  brought  the  gospel  of  the  love  of  God,  and  that 
there  should  be  any  whose  hearts  have  never  been  touched  by  the 
desire  to  serve.  Grant,  our  Father,  that  whether  in  this  life  or  the  life 
to  come,  we  may  never  count  our  work  as  finished  until  the  whole  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  God  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

And  this  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  Master  of  Life.   Amen. 


25 

Spirits  of  Spring  * 

Scripture:  (Preceded  by  a  word  of  explanation)  Job  38:  1-7,  12,  16,  22,  25-27, 
39-41;  39:  19-25;  42:  I,  2,  5,  6. 

Psalm:     65. 

Hymns:  "We  thank  Thee,  O  our  Father;"  "All  things  bright  and  beautiful;" 
"The  snow  has  vanished  from  the  hills;"   "Rejoice,  ye  pure  in  heart." 

Our  story  to-day  is  about  six  little  children,  who  were  called  the 
Spirits  of  Spring.  There  was  one  child  named  Hope,  and  another 
named  Fear;  one  named  Help,  and  another  named  Fret;  one  named 
Hop-skip,  and  the  last  named  Feel-bad.  They  were  all  spirit  children, 
— so  they  were  like  you  and  me  in  some  respects  and  quite  different  in 
others. 

In  the  summer  the  six  little  spirit  children  played  all  day  long  in  the 
fields  and  slept  each  night  in  the  dew-drops.  Hope  and  Help  and  Hop- 
skip  were  as  lively  as  could  be,  with  bright  eyes  and  quick  fingers  and 
nimble  feet;  while  Fear  and  Fret  and  Feel-bad  had  pale  faces  and 
puckered  mouths  and  weepy  eyes.  Hope  and  Help  and  Hop-skip  were 
always  dressed  in  red  jackets  and  red  caps  and  shoes  with  red  tops; 
while  Fear  and  Fret  and  Feel-bad  were  dressed  in  gray  jackets  and 
caps  and  shoes. 

Now  when  it  came  to  be  November,  and  the  nights  grew  cold,  the 
six  little  spirit  children  began  to  look  around  for  a  place  to  sleep  where 
it  would  be  warm  and  cozy.  One  night  near  bed-time  they  were  play- 
ing in  the  garden,  where  they  had  seen  the  gardener  come  out  and  plant 
some  tulip  bulbs  in  the  warm  earth  that  afternoon.  Their  teeth  were 
chattering,  but  Hope  said :  "Let's  go  to  sleep  in  the  tulip  bulbs."  And 
sure  enough,  there  were  just  six  bulbs  in  the  row,  one  apiece,  so  in  they 
jumped  and  curled  up  for  a  long  sleep. 

*  Adapted  from  The  Golden  Goblet  and  Other  Stories,  by  Jay  T.  Stocking. 
Copyright,   1914,   by  the   Pilgrim   Press. 

105 


106  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

They  were  very  tired  indeed,  so  they  slept  a  long  time.  When  they 
woke  they  found  that  the  ground  above  them  had  frozen  solid,  and 
that  there  was  a  blanket  of  snow  on  top  of  that.  Not  a  very  pleasant 
prospect  for  the  six  little  spirit  children ! 

Fear  and  Fret  and  Feel-bad  were  terribly  alarmed,  Fear  feared  and 
Fret  fretted  and  Feel-bad  felt  very  badly  indeed.  For  it  was  dark 
down  in  the  earth  and  above  it  was  wintry  and  cold;  and  Fear  said  he 
was  afraid  that  the  Heavenly  Father  had  forgotten  them  entirely,  and 
Fret  said  he  was  sure  they  would  never  get  out  again,  and  Feel-bad  said 
the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  give  up  and  die.  But  Hope  hoped,  and 
Help  helped,  and  Hop-skip  hop-skipped  around  as  lively  as  a  cricket. 
Hope  said:  "Who's  afraid?  Our  Heavenly  Father  is  caring  for  us  and 
we'll  come  out  all  right."  And  Help  said:  "Let's  get  busy  and  pass 
the  time  away  till  we  can  get  out."  And  Hop-skip  began  to  dance  mer- 
rily as  if  they  had  no  troubles  at  all.  But  Fear  and  Fret  and  Feel-bad 
worried  and  wailed  and  wept,  until  finally  they  made  themselves  so 
sick  and  miserable  that  they  all  had  to  go  to  bed.  And  even  then  they 
kept  on  wailing  about  their  troubles  and  moaning  that  nobody  cared  for 
them,  not  even  their  Heavenly  Father. 

But  the  little  red-coated  spirit  children  ran  and  jumped  and  played 
and  worked.  And  would  you  believe  it?  Each  time  they  jumped 
around  in  their  tulip  bulbs,  when  they  struck  the  ceiling,  or  the  top  of 
the  bulb,  they  would  push  it  up  just  a  little,  so  very  little  that  they  did 
not  notice  it  themselves.  But  in  a  few  weeks  they  had  pushed  the  tops 
of  the  bulbs  almost  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Finally  one  day  they  saw  a  tiny  crack,  through  which  came  a  little 
stream  of  light,  for  it  had  been  very  dark  inside  the  bulbs  until  then, 
and  what  do  you  suppose  they  saw?  Why,  they  saw  that  the  dark 
room  they  had  played  in  so  long  was  really  the  great  big  red  chamber  of 
a  tulip  blossom.  And  in  a  few  more  days  the  beautiful  red  chamber 
opened  still  further  and  let  them  out  again  into  the  warm  spring  sun- 
shine, where  they  romped  to  their  hearts'  content. 

That  day  the  gardener  came  around  in  the  garden  and  said:  "Well, 
I  see  the  red  tulips  are  up  early  this  year.  But  for  the  life  of  me  I  can- 
not find  the  gray  ones."  Finally  he  found  the  place  where  he  had 
planted  the  gray  bulbs  in  the  fall,  and  exclaimed:    "I  wonder  what  the 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  107 

matter  can  be?"  Then  he  took  a  spade  and  dug  down  into  the  moist 
earth.  There  were  the  gray  bulbs  just  where  he  had  planted  them; 
they  had  not  grown  nor  moved  a  particle.  ''Humph! "  he  said,  "just  as 
I  thought,  they  hadn't  life  enough  to  come  up!  Well,  I  never  thought 
much  of  gray  tulips,  anyhow;  next  year  we'll  plant  all  red  ones." 

Now  of  course  when  the  gardener  put  his  spade  into  the  ground  and 
turned  up  the  three  gray  tulip  bulbs,  Fear  and  Fret  and  Feel-bad  tum- 
bled out  of  their  beds,  very  much  ashamed  that  they  hadn't  come  up  the 
way  Hope  and  Help  and  Hop-skip  had.  And  when  they  heard  what  the 
gardener  said,  they  hurried  away  in  disgrace  as  quickly  as  they  could. 

PRAYER 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  to-day  for  the  spring-time  of 
nature,  with  its  budding  trees  and  growing  flowers,  and  for  our  spring- 
time of  life,  with  its  boundless  possibilities  for  helpfulness  and  happi- 
ness. We  thank  Thee  that  for  each  of  us  Thou  hast  something  to  do, 
perhaps  something  which  seems  to  us  very  hard  and  discouraging.  May 
we  not  fear  and  fret,  but  hope  and  help,  trusting  in  Thy  great  love  for 
each  one  of  us,  even  though  we  are  unworthy  of  it.  So  may  we  help  in 
making  this  world  as  Thou  wouldst  have  it,  a  garden  of  gladness  for 
every  one  of  Thy  children.  This  we  ask  in  the  name  of  him  who 
trusted  in  Thee  from  the  darkest  hour  of  death  to  the  spring-time  of  a 
new  and  triumphant  life.    Amen. 

SUGGESTIONS    FOR    TEACHERS    AND    PARENTS 

LEADING   TO   THE    USE   OF    THE    EFFECTS    OF    THE    WORSHIP 

If  needed,  general  questions  will  be  found  on  p.  ii. 

1.  Associate  the  worship  with  an  informal  conversation  about  the  coming  of 
spring,  especially  if  some  warm,  quiet  day  has  suggested  relaxation  of  body  and 
mind — the  feeling  of  rest  and  peace.  It  is  by  suggestion  rather  than  discussion 
that  one  wins  appreciation  of  the  essential  goodness  of  a  world  so  filled  with 
beauty. 

2.  It  is  worth  while  to  cultivate  enjoyment  of  such  nature  passages  as  the  one 
read  from  Job  and  the  Sixty-fifth  Psalm,  and  to  associate  them  with  others  the 
children  may  suggest  from  the  Bible  or  elsewhere.  Take  time  to  gain  the  whole- 
some attitudes  toward  nature  and  people  that  the  spring  helps  us  to  establish. 
Plan  an  outdoor  trip  or  hike  if  it  is  needed.  Help  the  children  see  the  peaceful, 
steady,  quiet,  skilful  workmanship  of  nature. 


26 

The  Two  Foundations 

Scripture:     Matthew  7:24-27. 
Psalm:     24:  1-5. 

Hymns:  "Come,  my  soul,  thou  must  be  waking;"  "It  came  upon  the  mid- 
night clear;"  "Jesus  calls  us." 

If  our  House  of  Peace  is  to  stand  when  the  storm-clouds  of  war 
gather,  it  must  be  founded  upon  a  rock.  Otherwise  it  will  come  clat- 
tering down  upon  our  heads  and  all  our  work  will  have  been  in  vain. 
What  sort  of  a  foundation  rock  shall  we  choose  for  our  House  of  Peace? 

The  best  way  to  answer  that  question  is  to  look  for  a  moment  at  the 
houses  of  peace  which  people  have  tried  to  build  in  the  past.  For  every 
war  that  has  taken  place,  and  there  have  been  a  lot  of  them,  there  has 
been  an  attempt  at  the  end  of  the  war  to  build  a  house  of  peace.  No 
matter  how  much  people  dislike  each  other  when  they  are  fighting,  they 
try  to  forget,  when  the  war  is  over,  and  begin  over  again. 

Some  of  these  houses  of  peace  have  lasted  for  centuries,  like  the 
house  that  was  built  upon  the  rock.  The  rains  of  misunderstanding 
have  descended,  and  the  floods  of  excitement  have  come,  and  beat  upon 
the  house  of  peace,  and  it  has  fallen  not;  for  it  was  founded  upon  the 
rock  of  justice  and  friendship. 

But  others  of  the  houses  of  peace  have  fallen  in  the  storms  of  pas- 
sion and  greed,  and  great  has  been  the  fall  thereof.  For  these  houses 
have  been  built  on  the  sands  of  jealousy  and  suspicion.  They  have 
crashed  down  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  built  them,  and  crushed  out 
the  lives  of  many  innocent  people  also. 

As  an  example  of  the  lasting  house  of  peace,  founded  upon  a  rock, 
we  have  the  one  which  has  been  built  in  the  course  of  many  years  of 
friendship  by  Canada  and  the  United  States.  We  are  next-door  neigh- 
bors, with  a  border  line  thousands  of  miles  long,  and  not  a  single  gun 
nor  fort  anywhere  on  either  side.    We  long  since  decided  to  be  just  to 

108 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  109 

each  other,  and  more  than  that,  to  be  friends.  And  if  anyone  should 
in  the  future  try  to  raise  a  storm  about  our  house  of  peace  with  Canada, 
we  may  be  sure  that  it  would  stand,  for  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock. 

In  the  last  few  years  we  have  seen  the  collapse  of  another  kind  of  a 
house  of  peace,  one  which  stood  barely  forty  years.  It  was  the  house 
of  peace  built  by  the  conquering  Germans  to  suit  themselves,  after 
they  had  beaten  the  French  in  an  unjust  war.  They  simply  did  as  they 
pleased,  and  left  the  French  penniless  and  hungry  outside.  To  the 
Germans  it  looked  like  a  very  fine  house  but  it  was  built  on  the  quick- 
sand of  distrust  and  hate,  and  in  1914,  down  it  came,  dragging  other 
houses  with  it. 

As  Americans  we  want  the  great  world  house  of  peace  to  be  firmly 
emplanted  on  the  rock  of  right,  so  that  it  will  stand  forever,  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  wars.  It  will  never  stand  if  some  of  us  keep  on  build- 
ing our  houses  of  peace  on  the  sand,  like  some  boys  who  drove  all  the, 
other  boys  off  a  certain  ballfield. 

These  boys  had  a  team,  and  wanted  very  much  to  practice  on  the 
only  ballfield  there  was  in  the  neighborhood.  But  naturally  the  other 
boys  wanted  to  play,  too,  so  they  would  fight  and  annoy  each  other 
with  the  result  that  neither  side  could  play.  Finally  the  team  decided 
to  build  a  fence  around  the  lot  so  that  they  might  keep  the  other  boys 
out  and  play  in  peace.  They  built  the  fence,  and  by  keeping  some  of 
the  players  on  guard  the  rest  could  practice  without  annoyance.  But 
it  wasn't  much  fun,  playing  all  by  themselves,  and  being  jeered  at  by 
all  the  rest  of  the  boys  in  town. 

So  one  day  one  of  the  boys  said:  "This  is  no  way  to  have  peace. 
Let's  get  the  other  crowd  to  organize  a  team  and  then  we  can  all  play, 
and  get  more  practice  than  we  can  alone,  anyhow."  It  was  a  good 
thing  that  he  spoke,  for  that  very  night  the  other  boys  were  going  to 
tear  down  every  board  in  the  fence,  and  the  house  of  peace  that  was 
built  on  the  sand  would  have  collapsed  in  a  heap. 

So  the  next  day  the  other  boys  came  in  with  their  team,  and  instead 
of  a  fight  they  all  had  a  rattling  good  game  of  baseball.  And  after  the 
game  they  decided  they  didn't  need  the  fence  any  more,  so  they  tore  it 
down  together,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  year  all  the  boys  of  the  neighbor- 


110  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

hood  played  together,  and  had  twice  as  much  fun,  for  their  house  of 
peace  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

FOR  FURTHERING  THE  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WORSHIP 

See  p.  II  for  general  questions  if  needed. 

1.  Do  you  suppose  we  could  tell  our  fathers  and  mothers  and  friends  about 
the  House  of  Friendship  and  the  House  of  Justice  and  the  House  of  Peace  (or 
just  the  House  of  Friendship),  if  they  should  all  come  to  school  later  in  the 
spring?  Could  we  tell  them  what  we  have  been  doing  to  help  build  it?  Let's 
think  about  it. 

2.  We  haven't  thought  about  our  ordinances  lately.  Have  we  all  the  rules 
we  need  to  keep  the  peace?  Supposing  we  wanted  to  explain  the  City  of  God  to 
someone  who  had  never  heard  of  Christianity,  have  we  enough  rules  to  show  what 
it    really  means? 

3.  Do  you  suppose  we  could  take  some  instances  from  our  own  experience 
of  trying  to  keep  the  peace  and  make  them  into  a  story  for  the  service?  It  would 
help  the  others  in  the  school,  especially  the  younger  ones,  if  they  could  have  some 
vivid  examples  of  how  it  is  done. 


27 

Work 

Scripture:     Jeremiah   i :  4,   5b,  6-10. 
Psalm:     51 :  1-3,  6-12,   15. 

Hymns:  "Lead  on,  O  King  eternal;"  "Faith  of  our  fathers;"  "O  God,  who 
workest  hitherto." 

Note. — It  is  the  interest  of  this  story  to  give  courage  and  ambition  for  the 
last  few  weeks  of  the  school  year,  which  sometimes  tend  to  drag,  because  all  are 
tired  or  eager  for  the  holidays. 

Jeremiah  did  not  think  he  could  do  what  God  wanted  him  to  do, 
but  he  was  willing  to  try.    So  he  stepped  into  place  and  did  his  work. 

Some  of  our  older  brothers  felt  just  the  same  way  when  the  call 
came  for  help  during  the  great  war.  You  remember  how  they  went. 
They  were  not  sure  they  could  learn  how  to  fly  or  to  command  com- 
panies of  men,  but  they  were  willing  to  try,  so  they  stepped  into  place 
and  did  their  work. 

It  was  the  same  everywhere — hundreds  of  thousands  of  young  men 
went  to  do  their  work.  But  they  left  behind  an  immense  amount  of 
work  for  others  to  do.  And  do  you  remember  how  all  helped?  The 
children  raised  millions  of  dollars  for  liberty  bonds.  You  helped. 
They  bought  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  war  savings 
stamps.  You  helped.  They  gathered  tons  and  tons  of  clothes  for  the 
Red  Cross.  You  helped.  All  this  work  had  to  be  done,  and  we  stepped 
into  place  and  did  it.  And  strange  to  say,  we  liked  to  do  it.  We  made 
a  great  discovery.    We  discovered  the  joy  of  hard  work. 

But  all  need  for  work  did  not  stop  with  the  war.  Work  just  keeps 
right  on  piling  up.  Think  of  all  we  have  to  do  before  the  end  of  the 
year — mountains  of  work,  and  no  one  to  do  it  but  just  ourselves.  But 
we  are  going  to  step  into  place  and  do  it.    (Name  the  items.) 

If  we  come  on  time,  we  shall  help. 

If  we  sing  instead  of  lazily  letting  others  sing  for  us,  we  shall  help. 

If  we  do  our  work  at  home,  if  we  usher  and  take  care  of  the  books 

111 


112  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

or  sing  in  the  choir;  if  we  teach  as  well  as  we  can  or  play  the  piano  or 
organ  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  or  even  if  we  just  behave  as  we  should 
— if  we  do  what  we  know  we  ought  to  do,  we  shall  help.  And  so  each 
of  us  will  look  himself  in  the  eye  and  say:  "Look  here,  young  sir,  just 
step  into  place  and  do  your  work." 

PRAYER 

Our  Father  in  Heaven,  we  are  ashamed  that  we  have  so  often  for- 
gotten to  do  our  work.  We  are  ashamed  that  we  have  not  always  done 
our  best  to  help.  We  are  sorry  for  not  having  taken  pains  to  be  good, 
when  we  might  have,  if  we  had  only  thought  about  it.  Help  us  to  be 
more  thoughtful,  our  Father.  Thou  knowest  that  we  are  only  children. 
But  we  do  not  want  to  be  only  children.  We  want  to  be  able  to  do 
things  right  and  to  get  things  done  and  to  help  our  school  do  all  it 
should  for  everybody. 

Thou  dost  help  us,  our  Father.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  help  Thou 
dost  give  us  whenever  we  try  to  be  helpful  and  thoughtful.  Sometimes 
we  don't  want  to  do  what  we  ought  to  do,  and  Thou  dost  help  us  to 
want  to  do  just  the  very  best  we  can. 

Wilt  Thou  help  those  for  whom  we  can  do  nothing,  and  somehow 
make  things  come  right  so  that  all  the  children  and  the  men  and  women 
can  be  happy  in  the  House  of  Peace,  for  that  is  what  we  most  desire. 

And  this  we  ask  in  Jesus'  name.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS 

TO   FURTHER   THE   EFFECTS    OF   THE   SERVICE 

For  general  questions,  see  p.  ii. 

1.  What  can  we  do  to  make  things  go  well  these  last  few  weeks  of  school? 
How  can  we  help  the  school  to  do  its  work?  Shall  we  step  into  place  and  do  our 
work?     Let's  make  a  list  of  things  to  be  done. 

2.  Where  does  our  work  need  sprucing  up?  Are  we  letting  anything  go  that 
needs  to  be  done?  Are  we  going  to  have  everything  finished  when  vacation 
comes?     Let's  see  what  we  still  have  to  do. 

3.  Let's  list  the  conditions  of  peace  that  we  have  been  thinking  of  so  far  in 
the  worship,  and  see  what  else  is  needed.  First,  there  was  absence  of  fear  or  trust 
in  God ;  second,  there  was  confidence  in  the  future  and  discipleship  of  the  Mas- 
ter; third,  there  was  the  love  of  God's  out-of-doors;  and  last  Sunday  and  to-day 
there  was  the  spirit  of  cooperation. 


28 

The  Boy  Who  Forgot 

Scripture:     Isaiah   52:7;   55:i-3,  6-12. 
Psalm:     100. 

Hymns:  "Hail  to  the  brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morning;"  "Fling  out  the  ban- 
ner, let  it  float;"  "We've  a  story  to  tell  to  the  nations." 

Besides  the  House  of  Peace  that  we  are  building  together,  it  is  pos- 
sible for  every  one  of  us  to  have  a  house  of  peace  of  his  own.  Of 
course,  when  we  want  to  do  something  that  is  forbidden,  or  when  we 
disobey  our  parents  or  teachers,  or  when  we  waste  our  money  fool- 
ishly, we  have  war  inside  ourselves,  and  we  are  not  happy.  But  when 
we  do  our  duty,  or  do  some  nice  "extra"  thing  for  somebody,  without 
being  asked,  then  we  have  a  house  of  peace  in  our  hearts,  and  we  sing 
all  day  long.  This  story  is  about  a  little  boy  who  wanted  a  house  of 
peace  but  who  could  not  see  how  to  make  one. 

This  little  boy  lived  in  the  great  city  of  London.  His  parents  were 
very  poor,  so  poor  that  little  Jack  (for  that  was  the  boy's  name)  wanted 
to  earn  his  own  living  to  help  them.  He  was  very  ambitious,  and 
thought  that  by  shining  shoes  he  could  earn  enough  money  to  pay  for 
his  food  and  clothing.  But  he  had  no  money  to  begin  with,  to  buy 
blacking  and  brushes. 

He  heard  somehow  that  outside  the  city  there  lived  a  very  rich  old 
gentleman,  so  he  hurried  off  as  fast  as  he  could  to  find  him.  After  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  he  persuaded  the  pompous  servant,  who  an- 
swered the  bell,  to  let  him  in.  And  when  the  rich  old  man  saw  the  boy, 
he  was  attracted  by  Jack's  bright,  sunny  face,  and  allowed  him  to  tell 
his  story. 

So  Jack  told  the  rich  gentleman  how  he  wanted  to  start  in  business 
to  help  his  parents,  but  that  he  had  no  money. 

''I  want  you  to  be  my  partner,"  he  said.    "You  lend  me  a  dollar  to 

113 


114  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

buy  brushes  and  blacking.  I'll  go  out  and  work  hard,  and  then  next 
Monday  I  shall  bring  back  your  dollar  and  give  you  half  of  what  I 
earn." 

The  old  man  was  pleased  with  Jack's  honest,  straightforward  story. 
Jack  got  the  dollar  and  off  he  went.  He  began  business  at  once.  Many 
men,  attracted  by  his  cheerful,  "Shine,  sir?"  stopped  for  a  polish.  By 
Saturday  he  had  earned  four  dollars,  which  he  hugged  tightly  in  his 
trousers  pocket. 

"On  Monday,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  shall  go  back  and  pay  my 
partner  his  dollar  and  his  share  of  the  profits."  He  was  so  happy  he 
did  not  know  what  to  do. 

Monday  came.  Jack  set  out  for  the  rich  gentleman's  home,  but  his 
bright  smile  had  gone. 

Almost  before  he  knew  it  the  old  man  was  asking  kindly:  "How's 
business,  little  partner?" 

"Oh,  sir,"  said  Jack,  "it's  all  up." 

"All  up?"  said  the  man.  "What  do  you  mean  by  that?  Didn't 
you  have  success  with  your  business?" 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "I  made  a  lot  of  money,  but "  then  his  voice 

was  choked  with  a  sob.  "Oh,  sir,  you  see,  'twas  like  this,  sir.  I  go  to  a 
Sunday  school  every  Sunday.  Yesterday  a  man  came  and  told  us 
about  some  poor  little  children  in  foreign  lands  who  do  not  even  have 
schools  or  churches  like  ours.  Then  he  told  how  he  was  trying  to  help 
them.  And  I  was  so  sorry  for  those  children  that  I  forgot  all  about 
you,  sir,  and  when  the  box  was  passed  for  the  offering  I  chucked  in  all 
the  money  I  had.  Straight,  sir,  I  never  thought  about  you.  I  was  so 
sorry  for  those  children." 

When  he  had  finished,  the  old  gentleman  put  his  arm  around  Jack 
and  told  him  how  glad  he  was  that  he  had  helped  those  children  who 
didn't  have  any  churches  or  schools.  "And  never  mind  about  the  dol- 
lar this  time,"  he  said.    "I'll  give  that  to  the  children  myself." 

Then  there  came  a  great  peace  into  the  boy's  heart,  and  he  forgot 
his  fear  and  stopped  crying.  And  more  than  that,  the  rich  old  man 
offered  to  send  Jack  to  school,  so  that  he  might  fit  himself  to  go  to  a 
foreign  land  and  to  teach  the  children  like  those  of  whom  he  had 
heard,  and  for  whom  he  had  given  more  than  he  had. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  115 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS    AND    PARENTS 

TO   USE    IN    SECURING   RESULTS    FROM    THE    SERVICE 

See  p.  II  for  introductory  material  and  suggestions  on  memory  work. 

1.  What  sort  of  a  "story"  have  we  "to  tell  to  the  nations"?  How  would 
you  tell  it  to  the  folks  who  had  never  heard  it?     Could  you  do  anything  besides 

talk  about   it?     How   about    what   we   are    making   for  ?     And   our   present 

to  ?     And  the  money  we  sent  to  ?     Do  these  help  tell  the  story?     Jack 

was  trying  to  tell  a  story  to  the  nations,  too,  wasn't  he?     Would  you  like  to  learn 
that  song?     Let's  read  it  together. 

2.  Did  the  story  remind  you  of  one  that  Jesus  told?  Do  you  think  that  sort 
of  spirit  is  needed  in  the  House  of  Peace?     How  would  you  phrase  it? 

3.  We  have  another  condition  of  peace  to-day.  What  is  it?  (E.g.,  self- 
forgetfulness  or  thoughtfulness  for  others,  or  ready  response  to  need.)  What  con- 
tributions have  missionaries  recently  been  making  to  the  cause  of  racial  under- 
standing and  world  peace? 


29 

The  Scowling  Face 

Scripture:     Rom.  12:3,  9-17. 
Psalm:     51  :  1-3,  6-12,   15. 

Hymns:  "O  God,  who  workest  hitherto;"  "Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side?"  "O 
Master,  let  me  walk  with  thee." 

Elbert  was  on  his  way  to  school,  and  as  he  walked  along  he  kept 
saying  to  himself:  "Oh,  what  a  sad  world  this  is!"  Elbert  lived  in 
the  country,  and  now  that  he  was  ten  years  old,  his  father  thought  he 
was  big  enough  to  walk  along  the  pleasant  path  through  the  woods  and 
along  the  road  to  the  little  white  schoolhouse  on  the  hill.  It  was  early 
autumn,  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  were  gloriously  red  and  brown  and 
yellow.  A  saucy  squirrel  chattered  a  good  morning  to  Elbert,  and  then 
rushed  up  the  big  oak  that  was  his  home  as  fast  as  he  could.  A  flock  of 
blackbirds  celebrating  overhead  did  not  wait  to  be  spoken  to  either. 

But  Elbert  was  not  thinking  about  the  friendly  animals  nor  the 
beautiful  sunshiny  fields  about  him.  His  mother  said  he  must  have 
gotten  up  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  bed  that  morning.  You  can  judge 
for  yourself,  when  I  tell  you  what  had  happened. 

First  of  all,  he  had  not  been  quite  ready  to  wake  up  when  he  was 
called,  and  he  had  come  down  to  breakfast  rubbing  his  eyes  and  with 
his  hair  only  partly  combed.  Then  Elbert  did  not  have  what  he  wanted 
for  breakfast,  and  he  had  complained  rudely.  And  after  breakfast, 
when  he  had  fed  his  pet  rabbits  in  the  barnyard,  it  was  most  annoying 
to  hear  his  mother  call:  "I  wonder  if  you  know  a  boy  who  would  like 
to  help  wipe  the  dishes?" 

"Aw,  mother,  I'm  no  girl.  I  don't  want  to,"  had  been  his  reply.  Ho 
finally  did  help,  but  with  an  awful  scowl. 

And  as  he  walked  along  the  road  to  school,  the  scowl  kept  right 
with  him  all  the  way,  and  it  did  not  grow  any  less  frightful,  I  can  tell 
you.    "Why  must  a  fellow  have  a  mother,  anyway?"  he  asked  himself. 

116 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  117 

And  the  old  squirrel  in  the  big  oak  tree  gave  a  very  wise  look  over  his 
shoulder  and  hurried  up  out  of  sight  of  the  scowl  on  Elbert's  face. 

Elbert  had  eaten  his  lunch  that  noon  and  was  out  on  the  play- 
ground telling  Alfred,  a  friend  of  his,  about  his  rabbits,  when  all  at 
once  they  both  noticed  almost  at  the  same  moment  a  queer  black  cloud 
in  the  northwest.  It  looked  so  black  and  was  coming  so  fast  that  they 
rushed  into  the  schoolhouse  to  tell  the  teacher.  They  met  her  coming 
out.    "Quick,  to  the  cyclone  cellar!"  she  cried. 

So  they  all  rushed  pell-mell  to  the  little  cellar  which  people  build 
near  each  house  in  that  part  of  the  country  to  escape  the  dangerous 
storms  or  cyclones  which  sometimes  come  there.  They  stayed  down 
there  in  the  dark  for  what  seemed  to  be  an  endless  time.  Meanwhile 
they  could  hear  plainly  the  roar  of  the  great  wind  and  the  loud  crashing 
of  lumber  outside.  Finally,  when  the  storm  was  past,  they  looked  out. 
What  a  sight  they  saw!  The  school  building  had  disappeared;  all  that 
was  left  was  a  pile  of  splintered  lumber.    The  very  fence  was  gone. 

Soon  the  children  started  home.  Elbert  could  hardly  find  the  road, 
it  was  drifted  so  full  of  sticks  and  branches  and  pieces  of  buildings. 
The  scowl  had  gone  long  ago,  for  Elbert  began  to  wonder  about  things 
at  home.  All  at  once  it  came  to  him  that  he  had  forgotten  to  kiss  his 
mother  good-by  that  morning,  when  he  left  with  the  big  scowl  on  his 
face. 

Then  he  began  to  run.  He  tripped  over  a  fallen  log  and  fell  down. 
He  got  up  with  blood  on  his  face,  but  he  hurried  on.  Everything  which 
he  had  seen  on  his  way  to  school  that  morning  had  gone:  the  black- 
birds, the  squirrel,  the  oak,  even  most  of  the  trees.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  he  had  never  wanted  to  see  his  mother  so  much  before  in  all  his 
Hfe.  On  and  on  he  ran,  all  out  of  breath.  And  then,  when  it  seemed 
to  him  as  if  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer,  that  he  must  stop  and  cry, 
he  saw  in  the  distance  a  familiar  figure  coming  to  meet  him  with  out- 
stretched arms. 

*^0  Mother,  I'm  so  glad!"  was  all  he  could  say  as  she  gathered  the 
exhausted  little  boy  in  her  arms,  and  told  how  the  storm  had  just  missed 
their  house.  But  that  night  when  Elbert  knelt  at  his  bedside  to  talk 
with  the  Heavenly  Father,  his  prayer  was  something  like  this: 


118  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

"O  Father,  forgive  me  for  being  so  mean  and  hateful  this  morning.  Thou 
hast  given  me  so  many  things  to  make  me  happy.  Help  me  to  bring  joy 
and  happiness  to  everything  and  everybody  in  Thy  beautiful  world." 

And  the  next  morning  Elbert's  mother  could  hardly  believe  her  ears 
when  just  after  breakfast  Elbert  appeared  with  a  broad  smile  instead 
of  a  frown  and  said:  "What  can  I  do  for  you  now,  Mother?" 

PRAYER 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  all  the  beautiful  things  in 
Thy  world.  Forgive  us  that  we  have  not  appreciated  them  more,  and 
loved  Thee  better.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  people  who  do  things  for 
us  each  day.    Help  us  to  remember  to  thank  them,  too. 

Our  Father,  we  desire  to  do  our  part  in  the  City  of  God.  Help  us 
to  find  joy  in  doing  things  for  others.  Forgive  the  frowns  and  the 
growls  and  the  scowls  and  the  mean  words  and  acts,  for  we  are  sorry  for 
them,  and  help  us  to  be  happy  because  we  live  as  Thy  children  ought  to 
live.  Give  us  the  joy  of  helping  and  being  of  use.  And  this  we  ask  in 
the  name  of  our  Master.    Amen. 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS   AND    PARENTS 

TO  USE  IN   SECURING  RESULTS  FROM   THE  SERVICE 

Introductory  questions  on  p.  ii. 

1.  How  did  you  feel  when  that  storm  came  and  blew  down  the  schoolhouse? 
Elbert  hadn't  done  much  to  build  a  House  of  Peace  in  his  home,  had  he?  How 
did  he  feel  when  he  remembered  how  he  had  behaved?  What's  the  best  thing  to 
do  when  one  feels  a  terrible  scowl  coming  on  his   face? 

2.  While  that  portion  of  Paul's  letter  was  being  read,  did  any  of  you  think 
of  our  rules?  The  whole  chapter  is  almost  a  set  of  rules  for  living  in  friendliness 
and  peace.  Some  of  it  was  read  not  long  ago.  Let's  look  at  it.  Is  there  any- 
thing here  that  we  could  put  into  our  ordinances?  Could  we  use  this  chapter  in 
the  service  we  shall  be  having  later  to  bring  together  all  we  have  been  thinking 
about  the  City  of  God? 

3.  What  new  condition  of  peace  do  we  have  to-day?  (E.g.,  cheerfulness.) 
How  are  we  getting  on  with  plans  for  a  final  service?  How  are  we  going  to  make 
the  Building  of  the  City  of  God  vivid  to  everyone? 


30 
Two  Kinds  of  Peace 

Scripture:     Isaiah  32:16-18;   33:2-6. 
Psalm:     24:  1-5. 

Hymns:  "Come,  my  soul,  thou  must  be  waking;"  "Dear  Lord  and  Father  of 
mankind;"  "Lead  on,  O  King  eternal." 

I  don't  believe  there  ever  was  a  child  who  didn't  like  to  play.  No^y 
in  the  country  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  all  these  playing  children,  so 
that  each  one  can  play  in  a  different  place  if  he  wants  to.  But  in  the 
city  it  is  different,  and  sometimes  it  is  hard  for  a  whole  lot  of  children  to 
play  together  in  one  small  yard  called  a  playground. 

That  was  the  trouble  at  Playground  Number  Ten,  and  the  boys  did 
not  like  it  a  bit.  They  thought  the  girls  were  always  in  the  way.  And 
perhaps  they  were,  because  both  boys  and  girls  were  trying  to  play  in 
the  same  place  at  the  same  time.  Now  boys  don't  like  to  be  playing 
ball,  and  continually  running  into  some  girls  skipping  the  rope;  neither 
do  the  girls  enjoy  their  rope-skipping  if  some  boy  is  continually  break- 
ing in  to  chase  a  ball. 

So  the  boys  began  to  tease  and  annoy  the  girls  of  Playground  Num- 
ber Ten,  thinking  that  perhaps  they  would  go  away  and  leave  plenty  of 
room  for  baseball.  But  the  girls  stood  their  ground;  it  was  their  play- 
ground just  as  much  as  the  boys',  and  they  didn't  intend  to  be  driven 
out.  Little  by  little  the  boys  grew  more  annoying,  running  off  with  the 
girls'  ropes  and  balls,  and  pushing  them  roughly  aside  with  loud  hoots 
and  yells. 

Finally  things  got  so  bad  that  Miss  Jones,  the  supervisor  at  the 
playground,  was  obliged  to  take  a  hand.  Many  times  she  had  asked 
the  boys  politely  to  stop  teasing  the  girls  and  let  them  play,  too;  but 
apparently  it  did  no  good;  they  became  worse  and  worse. 

So  one  day  the  boys  were  very  much  surprised  when  they  came 
down  the  street  to  Playground  Number  Ten,  to  see  standing  in  the 

119 


]20  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

middle  of  the  playground  a  big  man,  with  a  stick.  The  man  looked 
very  big  and  fierce  to  the  boys,  but  he  didn't  seem  to  be  doing  anything 
in  particular.  That  day,  however,  there  was  peace.  Every  time  a  boy 
would  run  over  toward  where  the  girls  were  playing,  he  would  look 
around,  and  the  big  man  would  be  looking  straight  at  him.  Indeed,  the 
boys  were  so  scared  at  this  stalwart-looking  man  in  uniform,  who  didn't 
do  anything  but  watch,  that  they  hardly  had  any  fun  at  all.  Most  of 
them  slunk  home  long  before  dark. 

The  next  day  the  big  man  was  there  again.  And  again  there  was 
peace,  but  nobody  was  happy,  because  they  were  afraid.  The  next 
morning  the  boys  began  to  talk  among  themselves,  to  see  if  there 
wasn't  some  way  out  of  the  trouble  they  had  got  themselves  into.  At 
last  they  hit  upon  an  idea.  They  would  go  to  Miss  Jones,  and  propose 
that  the  playground  be  divided  into  a  large  part  and  a  small  part.  One 
day  the  boys  would  play  baseball  or  some  game  that  took  lots  of  room 
on  the  large  part,  while  the  girls  used  the  smaller  part;  then  the  next 
day  they  would  change  over.  Then  they  wouldn't  interfere  with  one 
another's  games  at  all. 

They  decided  to  propose  the  plan,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  Miss 
Jones  readily  assented.  The  next  day  when  the  boys  came  down  the 
street  after  school  was  out  they  hurried  to  the  corner  and  peeked 
around — that  big  man  had  gone.  With  shouts  of  joy  they  ran  to  their 
part  of  the  playground;  and  that  day,  and  all  the  days  after  that,  there 
was  peace  on  Playground  Number  Ten,  not  the  kind  of  fear-peace  that 
the  big  man  with  a  stick  brought,  but  the  joy-peace  that  came  from 
playing  fair. 

QUESTIONS    FOR   TEACHERS    AND    PARENTS 

KOR    FOLLOWING    tJP    THE    .SERVICE 

See  the  general  questions  on  p.  ii. 

1.  What  made  those  children  stop  quarreling?  Did  they  have  a  good  time 
then?  What  was  wrong?  What  did  they  do  then?  Did  this  work?  Do  you  think 
it  works  anywhere  else?  Do  children  and  grown  people  ever  have  a  good  time 
when  they  don't  play  fair? 

2.  How  old  do  you  think  boys  or  girls  have  to  be  before  they  can  play  fair 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  121 

and  live  at  peace  without  being  watched?  Why  don't  they  do  it?  What  ought 
to  be  done  with  trouble  makers?  Who  should  do  it?  Shall  we  put  our  con- 
clusion into  our  ordinances  or  think  about  it  a  while  longer? 

3.  The  square  deal  is  rather  essential  to  peace,  isn't  it?  How  about  industrial 
peace?  Does  the  big  stick  work  there?  Who  is  going  to  decide  what  a  square 
deal  is? 


31 

Planning  the  House  of  Peace 

Scripture:     Psalm  122, 
The  Beatitudes. 

Hymns:  "Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side;"  "O  God,  who  workest  hitherto;"  "Rise 
up,  O  men  of   God." 

"Save  as  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it." — Psalm 
127:  I. 

There  is  probably  no  one  of  us  who  has  not  at  some  time,  when  he 
has  looked  at  a  great  skyscraper  or  a  majestic  cathedral,  desired  to  be 
able  to  plan  such  a  building.  But  when  we  think  how  even  our  small 
playhouses  often  fall  down  before  we  have  finished  them,  we  realize 
how  hard  it  would  be  to  plan  a  huge  .forty-story  structure  that  would 
stand  for  many  years. 

Yet,  if  someone  should  draw  the  plans  for  us,  there  isn't  one  of  us 
so  small  that  he  or  she  could  not  help  build,  perhaps  only  by  carrying 
bricks  or  mixing  mortar.  For  that  is  the  way  great  buildings  rise,  by 
the  wise  planning  of  a  few  expert  men,  who  know  how  to  figure  out  the 
size  of  the  beams  and  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  and  then  by  the  care- 
ful, patient  labors  of  a  lot  of  men,  who  know  how  to  do  the  smaller 
tasks  that  go  to  make  up  the  whole  project. 

Neither  one,  you  see,  could  do  much  without  the  other.  If  no  one 
drew  the  plans,  the  carpenters  and  masons  would  never  be  able  to  agree 
on  a  building  that  would  look  well  nor  stand  for  long.  Each  carpenter 
might  have  his  own  idea  how  long  the  planks  should  be,  and  each  mason 
might  build  his  part  of  the  wall  differently,  so  that  the  building  would 
be  a  failure. 

On  the  other  hand,  what  good  would  a  fine  set  of  plans  be  if  there 
were  no  one  to  carry  them  out?  The  architects  might  cover  yards  of 
paper  with  pictures  of  what  they  wanted  the  building  to  be  like,  but  if 
there  were  no  laborers  to  bring  the  materials  and  put  them  together, 
then  there  could  be  no  building. 

122 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  123 

It  is  much  the  same  with  the  house  that  we  are  building  every  day, 
our  House  of  Peace.  H  the  whole  world  is  to  be  at  peace,  someone 
must  do  the  planning  who  knows  the  whole  world  well.  Most  of  us  only 
know  a  very  small  corner  of  the  world.  That  is  why,  in  1919,  House-of- 
Peace  architects  from  all  over  the  world  gathered  in  France  to  draw 
new  plans  for  a  House  of  World  Peace.  They  were  the  statesmen  of 
nearly  every  nation  on  the  globe  chosen  for  their  wisdom  and  leader- 
ship. For  several  months  they  planned  together.  In  many  things  they 
did  not  agree,  and  sometimes  instead  of  a  strong  beam  they  put  in  a 
weak  one.  But  when  they  had  finished  they  gave  the  plans  for  the  new 
House  of  World  Peace  to  the  nations,  and  people  everywhere  said: 
"Peace  has  been  made." 

But  had  it?  No,  the  architects  had  merely  drawn  the  plans,  and 
then  had  said  to  the  peoples  of  the  world:  "Here  are  our  plans  for  a 
House  of  World  Peace  in  which  we  think  that  all  of  us  can  live  together 
happily.    Will  you  help  us  build  the  house?" 

That  is  the  call  that  comes  to  each  one  of  us,  for  we  are  the  carpen- 
ters and  masons  and  laborers  in  the  actual  building  of  the  house.  The 
plans  will  change  as  men  grow  wiser,  but  the  work  will  go  on  slowly, 
board  by  board,  brick  by  brick,  and  day  by  day  the  walls  will  rise 
higher;  for  the  vision  is  there,  the  vision  of  a  better  world. 

Every  time  we  show  ourselves  the  friends  of  children  in  other  lands, 
by  sending  them  doctors  and  teachers,  we  are  building.  Every  time  we 
try  to  understand  them,  instead  of  calling  them  "foreign"  and  "queer," 
we  are  building.  Every  time  we  help  the  immigrants  who  have  come 
from  other  countries  to  our  beloved  America,  looking  for  freedom  and 
opportunity,  we  are  building.  Indeed,  every  time  we  sacrifice  our  own 
comforts  and  possessions  cheerfully  for  the  good  of  strangers,  and  make 
them  our  friends,  we  are  building. 

For  these  things  are  what  the  plans  call  for,  and  without  them,  with- 
out our  help,  the  wonderful  House  of  World  Peace  will  be  only  a  "scrap 
of  paper." 


124  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 


SUGGESTIONS    FOR    BRINGING    THE    PERIOD    TO   A    CLOSE 

The  time  devoted  in  class  or  home  to  gathering  up  and  furthering  the  influ- 
ence of  the  worship  might  with  profit  be  spent,  these  last  two  Sundays,  in  thinking 
about  the  whole  idea  or  project — the  Building  of  the  City  of  God — having  in  mind 
the  possibility  of  a  closing  service  for  the  period,  at  which  the  children  and  young 
people  may  conduct  a  service  which  they  themselves  have  prepared  and  which 
will  embody  the  essential  meaning  of  the  House  of  Friendship,  the  House  of 
Justice  and  the  House  of  Peace. 


32 

A  Flower  That  Was  God's  Minister* 

Scripture:     Matthew  7 :  25-33. 
Psalm:     Parts  of  65. 

Hymns:  "Lord  of  all  being;"  "All  things  bright  and  beautiful;"  "The  King  of 
Love  my  shepherd  is." 

It  happened  a  long  time  ago,  when  Napoleon  the  Great  was  emper- 
or. As  is  always  the  way  with  tyrants,  Napoleon  often  put  into  prison 
men  who  disagreed  with  him,  although  they  might  otherwise  be  good 
men.  That  is  the  only  way  unjust  power  can  be  held.  One  of  the  men 
that  Napoleon  imprisoned  was  a  great  scholar  named  Charney.  He  was 
a  very  wise  man.  All  his  life  he  had  studied  and  thought  until  he  knew 
almost  everything  that  anyone  could  know.  But  he  did  not  believe  in 
God. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  very  surprising  that  he  did  not  believe  in  God. 
There  he  was  shut  up  in  his  dark  little  prison  cell.  He  had  nothing  to 
do,  nothing  to  think  about  except  himself  and  his  troubles.  Naturally 
he  grew  more  sour  and  gloomy  every  day. 

One  day  as  he  was  walking  up  and  down  in  his  cell  he  noticed  a 
piece  of  chalk  or  soft  stone,  and  picking  it  up  he  wrote  on  the  wall: 
"No  one  cares."    He  was  very  unhappy. 

Now  it  happened  that  he  was  allowed  to  walk  in  a  little  open  court 
near  his  cell  for  an  hour  every  day.  It  was  a  dismal  place,  all  paved 
with  fiat  stones  and  surrounded  by  high  walls.  He  didn't  find  much  to 
think  about  here  either.  But  one  day  he  noticed,  pushing  its  way  up 
between  two  big  stones,  a  little  green  shoot.  He  was  surprised  to  see  it 
there  and  thought  of  course  that  when  he  came  out  again  the  next  day 
it  would  be  all  dried  up.  But  no;  it  was  still  here.  Absent-mindedly 
he  took  a  stick  and  loosened  up  the  earth  around  the  tiny  bit  of  green. 

*  Based  on  the  story  as  told  by  H.  T.  Kerr  in  Children's  Story  Sermons. 
Copyright  by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 

125 


126  THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE 

The  earth  looked  dry,  so  he  got  some  of  his  own  drinking  water  and 
poured  it  on  the  plant. 

When  he  went  back  to  his  cell  he  found  himself  thinking,  not  about 
himself  but  about  the  plant.  The  next  day  he  took  care  of  it,  and  the 
next  and  the  next — till  finally,  when  he  went  out  into  the  court  one 
morning,  he  found  a  beautiful  little  flower  blossoming.  Imagine  his 
delight.  How  eagerly  he  looked  forward  to  his  hour  in  the  court  after 
that!  His  sad  thoughts  went  away.  There  was  no  room  for  them.  He 
became  cheerful  and  hopeful  and  he  held  up  his  head  as  he  paced  back 
and  forth  in  his  cell. 

It  was  while  he  was  thus  walking  up  and  down,  thinking  of  the 
flower  in  the  court,  that  his  eye  chanced  to  fall  on  the  words,  now  dim 
and  indistinct,  that  he  had  written  on  the  wall  long  before — "No  one 
cares."  Striding  up  to  the  spot,  he  erased  them  with  his  sleeve,  and  in 
their  place,  he  wrote  these  words:    "God  cares." 

The  little  flower  was  God's  minister  to  him. 

"Each  little  flower  that  opens, 
Each   little  bird  that  sings, 
He  made  their  glowing  colors. 
He  made  their  tiny  wings. 

He  gave  us  eyes  to  see  them 

And   lips  that  we   might   tell 
How  great  is  God  Almighty 

Who  has  made  all  things  well." 

PRAYER 

How  beautiful,  O  God,  are  the  things  we  love!  Even  the  ugly  rag 
dolls  we  used  to  play  with  were  beautiful  to  us  because  we  loved  them 
so.  And  so  Thou  dost  make  the  world  beautiful  because  Thou  dost  love 
it  so,  clothing  its  great  barren  wastes  with  flowers  and  trees,  painting 
red  and  gold  the  western  sky  as  the  sun  goes  down,  and  making  the 
dark  night  radiant  with  a  thousand  sparkling  stars. 

Teach  us,  O  God,  how  to  help  Thee  to  make  the  whole  world  beau- 
tiful, to  get  rid  of  ugly  thoughts  and  ugly  feelings,  and  ugly  deeds,  and 
ugly  places.    Help  us  also  to  be  Thy  ministers;  bringing  food  to  those 


THE  HOUSE  OF  PEACE  127 

who  are  hungry,  bringing  good  cheer  to  those  that  are  lonely,  bringing 
fairness  and  justice  to  those  that  are  being  wronged. 

And  now  as  we  pray  in  silence  together  wilt  Thou  speak  to  us, 
showing  us  how  we  may  reveal  Thy  love  to  men  by  bringing  gladness 
and  beauty  into  their  lives.    And  this  we  ask  in  Jesus'  name. 

(Silence,  followed  by  the   benediction) 

The  Lord  bless  us  and  keep  us ; 

The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  us,  and  be  gracious  unto  us; 

The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  us,  and  give  us  Peace.    Amen. 


A  suggestion  is  made  on  page  124  for  a  service  with  which  to  bring 
the  year's  work  to  a  close 


Date  Due 


